Appeal Filed Post-limitation Rejected as Jurisdiction to Condone Delay is Restricted to 15 Days u/s 61(2) of IBC | NCLAT

Case Details: Deepak Dahyalal v. Steel Resources - [2024] 161 taxmann.com 193 (NCLAT- New Delhi)

Judiciary and Counsel Details

• Ashok Bhushan, Chairperson Barun Mitra & Arun Baroka, Technical Member
• Akhil Shankhwar & Raunak Satpathy, Advs. for the Appellant.
• Dipesh U. Siyoya & Swapan Pradhan, Advs. for the Respondent

Facts of the Case

In the instant case, the NCLT admitted the section 9 petition filed by the operational creditor admitting the corporate debtor into the rigours of the corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP).

Aggrieved by the impugned order, the appellant filed a delay condonation application seeking condonation of delay of 41 days in filing an instant appeal on the ground that the NCLT had passed an ex-parte order against the corporate debtor.

However, the appellant had no knowledge of the proceedings and only became aware of the said proceedings when an interim resolution professional (IRP) informed the appellant on 06.12.2023 about the impugned order through e-mail.

The respondent, refuting the submission of the appellant stated that the appellant was intimated by respondent No.1 of the interim orders passed by the NCLT on 31.03.2023.

Further, the respondent submitted that the impugned order dated 22.11.2023 had been served upon the appellant on 29.11.2023 by the Registry of the NCLT and had been placed on record by the respondent, which clearly showed that the appellant was well aware that the NCLT had passed the impugned order.

NCLAT Held

The NCLAT observed that since the registry of the NCLT was operational during the Christmas week and the facility of e-filing was available 24/7, thus, the appellant cannot rightfully claim that it was precluded from filing an appeal during that period and seek exclusion of time on a lame and facile pretext that the NCLT was closed.

Further, the NCLAT observed that the limitation for filing an appeal started from 22.11.2023 when the impugned order was pronounced and did not depend upon when the appellant became aware of the order

The NCLAT held that the 30 days period came to an end on 22.12.2023 and a further period of 15 days ended on 07.01.2024, an appeal having been filed on 01.02.2024 was clearly filed with a delay of more than 15 days from the date of expiry of limitation. However, the jurisdiction to condone delay was limited to only 15 days as per section 61(2) of the IBC. Hence, the application to condone delay could not be entertained.

List of Cases Reviewed

• Steel Resources v. Pritdip Impex (India) (P.) Ltd. [2024] 161 taxmann.com 192 (NCLT -Mum.) (para 16) followed See Annex