Delay Beyond 15 Days In Filing Appeal Cannot Be Condoned As Per Proviso To Section 61(2) Of IBC: NCLAT

The NCLAT New Delhi bench of Justice Ashok Bhushan (Judicial Member), Mr. Barun Mita (Technical Member) and Mr. Arun Baroka (Technical Member) has held that delay in filing an appeal beyond 15 days as per section 61(2) proviso of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code cannot be condoned. Brief Facts: The present application has been filed seeking condonation of delay of 19 days in filing the appeal. The appellant submitted that the appeal has been filed within a period of limitation that is within 45 days if all sundays and saturdays are excluded from the computation of the limitation period. Observations: The tribunal observed that the law as provided in the Limitation Act as well as Rule 3 of the NCLAT Rules, 2016 is that when the last day of the limitation falls on a public holiday, the said period shall be excluded from the computation of the limitation period. It further added that as the limitation period of filing an appeal is 30 days, if the 30th day falls on a public holiday, such day shall not be counted for the purpose of the limitation period. While applying the above law to the facts of the present case, the tribunal observed that “the submission of the Appellant that all Saturdays and Sundays which are falling within 45 days should be excluded is clearly an absurd argument and not as per the benefit available in Limitation Act as well as Rule 3 of the NCLAT Rules, 2016.” The tribunal concluded that the jurisdiction of the tribunal extends only to condone the delay of 15 days as per section 61(2) proviso therefore the delay of 19 days in the present cannot be condoned. Accordingly, the present appeal was dismissed. Case Title: Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. Versus Mohit Kumar Legal Heir of Naresh Kumar, Personal Guarantor Case Number: Company Appeal (AT) (Insolvency) No. 2242 of 2024 & I.A. No. 8422 of 202 Judgment Date: 23/01/2025 For Appellant : Mr. Manish Jain, Ms. Divya Sharma, Mr. Siddhant Jain, Mr. Manan Jain, Advocates. For Respondent : Ms. Aakriti Mittal, Advocate. Click Here To Read/Download The Order

Delay Beyond 15 Days In Filing Appeal Cannot Be Condoned As Per Proviso To Section 61(2) Of IBC: NCLAT

Mohd Malik Chauhan

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