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Judgment
O R D E R
The Appellants here have preferred this Company Appeal, being aggrieved with the Impugned Order dated 13.04.2023, as it was passed in CP (IB No. 95/BB/21), whereby their application for initiation for CIRP Proceedings under Section 7, of I & B, Code stood rejected. This Company Appeal is accompanied with IA No.1017 of 2023, where the Appellants have sought a Condonation of delay of 21 days which has chanced in preferring this Appeal. According to the records as available with us and as per the report of the Registry too, there has chanced a delay of 21 days, because the Appeal itself was E-filed, by the Appellant on 03.06.2023, the fact of which is not disputed.
The Application for Condonation of Delay is being vehemently opposed by the Respondents Counsel, on the ground, that as per the particulars obtained by her from the records of the NCLT, the date of uploading of the Judgment was 17.04.2023, and even if from the said date the delay is determined, then it would be falling outside the ambit of the Proviso to Subsection (2) of Section 61 of I & B Code. Apart from it, the Appeal has been filed with a free copy, which as per the stamp in the said copy, is seen to have been issued by the Registry of NCLT on 20.04.2023. The Appellant states that this free copy was supplied to him on 20.04.2023 by the Registry and therefore limitation period should be computed from 20.04.2023 and in that case, time taken from 20.04.2023 to the date of filing the Appeal i.e., 03.06.2023 is 45 days which entails a delay of 15 days which can be condoned under proviso of Section 61(2) of I & B Code, and accordingly he prays for condonation of delay chanced in filing the Appeal.
Admittedly, the Appellants have not applied for the certified copy of the judgment within 30 days of its pronouncement and they have filed for the same on 19.01.2024. Therefore, they cannot derive the benefit of Section 12(2) of the limitation Act, 1963 as per the judgment of Hon’ble Apex Court in the matters of V. Nagarajan Vs SKS Ispat. Accordingly, the plea to compute the limitations period from the date of supply of free copy of Judgment. That is 20.04.2023 cannot be acceded to. Therefore, the limitation period will have to be computed either from the date of pronouncement of the judgement being 13.04.2023,or from the date of uploading of the same, that is, 17.04.2023, in case substantive judgment was not pronounced on 13.04.2023. This being the position of law, even if time taken for filing the appeal is computed from 17.04.2023, it comes to 48 days which is beyond the outer limit of 45 days stipulated by Section 61(2) and its proviso, It may also be apt to mention that the principal bench of NCLAT has recently held, that for the purpose of extension of the limitation period up to a period of 15 days by this Tribunal using its discretion under section 61(2) proviso, that benefit would only be available when the application for obtaining the certified copy of the judgment is applied within the period of limitation i.e., 30days of the date of the Judgment. Apparently records shows that the same has not been complied with by the Appellant. This coupled with the fact that since the knowledge will be attributed to the appellant from the date of uploading i.e.,17.04.2023, and thus if he has not preferred the Company Appeal within the aforesaid prescribed time period as contemplated under Section 61, and instead has preferred the Appeal 48 days from the date of uploading of the judgment. The Appeal would barred by the Limitation, which cannot be permitted to be extended beyond 45 days which is the upper limit prescribed under the code. Thus, the application seeking condonation of delay in filing the Appeal being IA N. 1077/2023 would stand rejected and as a consequence thereto, the Company Appeal AT(CH)(Ins)No.335/2023, would too stand rejected.