Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 – s.62 – Supreme Court Rules, 2013 – Ord.VIII r.6 Sub-rules (3) and (4) – Condonation of delay – Appeal u/s.62, at the instance of liquidator of a corporate debtor under liquidation challenging the order passed by NCLAT – Appeal presented beyond the period of limitation prescribed in s.62(1), but within the grace period stipulated in sub-section (2) – Office reported a delay of 7 days in filing the appeal – Application seeking condonation of delay filed – Office also marked the appeal defective – Upon curing the defects, the appeal came to be re-filed after a further delay of 82 days, for which a separate application seeking condonation of the delay in re-filing also filed: Held: 45 (forty-five) days is available under subsection (1) of s.62 from date of receipt of the order of the NCLT to file an appeal involving a substantial question of law before this Court – As per sub-section (2), subject to sufficient cause being shown, the Supreme Court may allow an appeal to be filed within 15 (fifteen) days after the expiry of the said 45 (forty-five) days but not beyond – Curing of defects arising out of a defectively filed appeal u/s.62 is permissible within 28 (twenty-eight) days of notification thereof by the Registry – If the defects are cured within 28 (twenty-eight) days, the appeal would deserve registration upon removal of the “D No.” – However, there being no scope for curing defects after lapse of the period of 28 (twenty-eight) days in respect of an appeal u/s.62, filing of an application for condonation of the delay in re-filing does not arise – Thus, no question of condonation of delay [even for a day beyond 60 (sixty) days (in case of an appeal which, apart from the little delay in filing beyond 45 (forty-five days), is otherwise defect-free) and 28 (twenty-eight) days (in case of a defective appeal)] arises for consideration – Where the statute itself erects an insurmountable jurisdictional bar, no enquiry into the adequacy of the cause shown would alter the legal consequence that inexorably follows – Upon a perusal of the applications seeking condonation of delay in filing and in re-filing, sufficient cause not shown to satisfactorily explain the delay – Absent any cogent or convincing justification, the delay in both the filing of the defective appeal and re-filing of the appeal not liable to be condoned – Defective appeal dismissed as time-barred having been filed beyond the maximum period condonable in terms of the IBC. [Paras 25-28]
As published in the Supreme Court Reports, Supreme Court of India. Headnotes prepared by: Nidhi Jain. Text from the Indian Supreme Court Judgments open data set (Dattam Labs), CC BY 4.0.
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