LI Network
Published on: December 16, 2023 at 16:08 IST
The Supreme Court has made a significant clarification regarding the limitation period for filing an appeal from an order of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) before the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT).
The Court ruled that if the NCLT hears a case on a specific date but doesn’t pronounce the order on the same day, the limitation for filing an appeal commences from the date when the NCLT’s order gets uploaded.
However, if the NCLT hears and pronounces the order on the same day, the limitation starts from the date of the pronouncement, not its upload.
The case in question involved a petition by Vistra ITCL (India) Limited seeking the initiation of Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process against Evirant Developers Pvt. Ltd.
The appellant, the former director of the Corporate Debtor, filed an application alleging unauthorized filing of a reply by Respondent No. 2. The NCLT heard the matter on May 17, 2023, but no order was pronounced. The order was eventually uploaded on May 30, 2023.
The appellant, applying for a certified copy on May 30, 2023, received it on June 1, 2023. The 30-day period for filing an appeal ended on June 29, 2023. The appellant filed the appeal before the NCLAT on July 10, 2023, along with a condonation of delay application.
The Supreme Court clarified that the limitation period runs from the date of pronouncement of the order. As per the NCLT Rules, a clear distinction is made between the ‘hearing’ of an appeal and the ‘pronouncement’ of the order.
The Court emphasized that the pronouncement of the order is necessary, and Rule 150(1) stipulates that the order may be pronounced either at once or soon thereafter, not later than thirty days from the final hearing.
The Court held that since the case was listed for admission on May 17, 2023, and no substantive order was passed, the limitation would not run from that date. Instead, it would commence when the order was uploaded on May 30, 2023.
While the appeal was filed beyond the 30-day period but within the condonable period of 15 days, the Court restored the appeal to the NCLAT for reconsideration on whether the appellant had shown sufficient cause for condoning the delay beyond 30 days.
Case Title: Sanjay Pandurang Kalate v. Vistra ITCL (India) Limited and Others
