M/s Redington Ltd. vs Mr. R Sankaran & Anr.

Oral Judgment: Justice Sharad Kumar Sharma, Member (Judicial)

This Company Appeal dwells upon in its own peculiar facts and circumstances.

The Registry has reported that, this Company Appeal is defective as there is no Condone Delay Application, which has been filed by the Appellant in support thereto and that there has chanced 5 days of delay in preferring the Appeal. The said report of the Registry, is being objected by the learned counsel for the Appellant, on the ground that, if the date of the uploading of the impugned order is taken into consideration, i.e., on 03.10.2025, is considered as the starting point for computing the limitation period, then the preference of the Company Appeal, would be well within the time limit as prescribed by Section 61 (2) of I & B Code, 2016, and that, date of uploading should be taken as the starting point to determine the period of limitation, because from this date only, the impugned order falls in a public domain and an aggrieved person will be able to take a decision on whether to appeal and to prepare his appeal papers accordingly only from this date. We tend to agree with his arguments. If the limitation is construed with effect from 03.10.2025, the same would be falling well within the limitation period as prescribed under Section 61 of the I & B Code, 2016, and as a matter of fact, there happens to be no delay as such. Hence, the objection raised by the Registry, qua the aspect of delay would stand ‘overruled’.

The challenge given by the Appellant is to the impugned order dated 30.09.2025, which emanates from an order passed on Application, being IA(IBC)/1517(CHE)2025 filed by the IRP in CP (IBC)/237(CHE)/2021, for placing a supplementary report on record, to be considered at the stage of the proceeding under Section 100 of the I & B Code, 2016. The aforesaid application has been declined to be considered by the impugned order and the learned Tribunal, vide its orders on 30.09.2025, has held the same to be not maintainable and has proceeded to pass the following order: -

Thus, the learned Tribunal has expressed its inability to consider the supplementary report at a stage where the proceedings under Section 95 of the I & B Code, 2016, is yet to reach the stage of Section 100 of the I & B Code, 2016. Since, at this point of time, there are no judicial proceedings which are in existence in the eyes of law and the report already submitted under Section 99 of the I & B Code, 2016, only acts as an instrument to take a decision on admission/rejection of the application under Section 100 proceedings of I & B Code, 2016, the impugned decision taken by the learned Tribunal by holding the application to be non-maintainable, does not appear to suffer from any apparent error. But having said so, the learned counsel for the Appellant has expressed his grievance that, the proceedings under section 95 of the code were drawn as back as in the year 2021, and that, in compliance of the provisions contained under Section 99 of the Code, the principal report has already been submitted on 08.04.2022, and that till date, no action has been taken on the said report while during the intervening period when certain circumstantial changes have taken place which have a significant bearing on the proceedings and it is those changes, which he had sought to bring on record by virtue of supplementary report.

Be that as it may, the learned Tribunal will have to act upon the earlier report dated 08.04.2022, for the purposes of deciding as to whether initiation under Section 100 is required or not and simply because the matter had been delayed, these proceedings cannot be pleaded with any other report whatsoever. Thus, the rejection of interlocutory application is absolutely justified.

The learned Tribunal is requested to pass an appropriate order as expeditiously as possible preferably within a period of 3 months from today.

However, the order as under challenge herein where the application is held to be non-maintainable will not preclude the Appellant to make reference to the report as per law if permissible, at the stage when the proceeding attains a stage of Section 100 or thereafter. Accordingly, the Company Appeal would stand ‘disposed of ’ .