Aditya Khaitan & Ors. vs Il and Fs Financial Services Limited

Court

Supreme Court of India

Date

3 October 2023

Case No.

Civil Appeal Nos. 6411-6418 of 2023

Result

Allowed

Bench

J.K. Maheshwari, K.V. Viswanathan

Citation

[2023] 12 S.C.R. 803 : 2023 INSC 867

Issue for consideration

Whether the High Court was justified in rejecting the application for extension of time dated 20.01.2021 and in not taking the written statements on record.

Headnote

Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 – Commercial Courts Act, 2015 – Order 8 Rule 1 – Being a Commercial Suit, the 30-day period for filing written statements expired on 08.03.2020 – On 06.06.2020, the further condonable period of 90 days also expired – No written statements were filed within the said timelines – Appellants filed applications on 20.01.2021 for acceptance of written statements by extending time – Applications rejected by the High Court – Propriety: Held: In Re: Cognizance for Extension of Limitation in Suo Motu W.P. (C) No. 3 of 2020, the Supreme Court by order dated 08.03.2021 directed that the period from 15.03.2020 till 14.03.2021 will stand excluded in computing: a) the period prescribed u/ss. 23(4) and 29-A of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996; b) S.12-A of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015; c) provisos (b) and (c) of s.138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881; and (d) any other laws which prescribe period of limitation for instituting proceedings, outer limits (within which the court or tribunal can condone delay) and termination of proceedings – By virtue of s.16 of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015 brought into force on 23.10.2015 some provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 in its application to the commercial disputes were amended – The schedule to the Commercial Courts Act amended Order

5 Rule 1(1), Order 8 Rule 1 and Order 8 Rule 10 insofar as their applicability to commercial disputes was concerned – The outer limit u/Or. 8, r.1 within which the court or tribunal can condone the delay is 120 days from the date of summons – In the instant case, while summons was served on 07.02.2020, the 30 days period expired on 08.03.2020 and the outer limit of 120 days expired on 06.06.2020 – The application for taking on record the written statements and the extension of time was filed on 20.01.2021 – Applying the orders of 08.03.2021 and the orders made thereafter and excluding the time stipulated therein, the applications filed by the applicants on 20.01.2021 are well within time – Thus, judgment passed by the High Court set aside and the written statements filed on 20.01.2021 are directed to be taken on record. [Paras 15, 16, 19, 20, 21 and 22]

Maxims – Vigilantibus non dormientibus jura subveniunt – Meaning of:

JUDGMENT / ORDER OF THE SUPREME COURT JUDGMENT K. V. VISWANATHAN, J. 1. Leave granted. 2. The present appeals challenge the judgment of the High Court at Calcutta dated 26.02.2021 passed in General Application Nos. 3,4,5,6,7,8,9 and 10 of 2021 in Civil Suit No. 177 of 2019. By the said judgment, the High Court had dismissed the said applications and consequently denied the applicants/defendants prayer to take on record their written statements. According to the High Court, the applications cannot be allowed as the period of 30 days to fi le the written statements had expired on 08.03.2020.

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