Uday Ved vs Union Of India

IN THE MATTER OF: Uday Ved ...Appellant Versus Union of India ...Respondents

Present: For Appellant : Mr. Kunal Mehta, Mr. Yogesh Chawak, Mr. Sameer Abhayankar, Ms. Soumya Srinivasan, Mr. Krishna Rastogi, Mr. Aryan Srivastava, Mr Yash Tandon, Mr Harshit Chaudhary, Advocates. For Respondents : Mr. Aditya Sikka, Ms Onshi Jakhar, Ms. Yuganshi Singh, Advocates.

ORDER

(Hybrid Mode)

12.11.2025 Heard Ld. Counsel for the Appellant as well as Ld. Counsel

for the Respondent.

2. This Appeal has been filed against the order dated 20.06.2024 passed

by National Company Law Tribunal, Mumbai Bench-I, by which the CA No.

121/2022 filed by the Appellant to recall/review the order judgment dated

18.07.2019 has been dismissed in Company Petition No. 3638/2018 filed

under Section 241 and 242 of the Companies Act 2013. An order was passed

by the NCLT dated 18.07.2019 directing impleadment of the several persons

including the Appellant on second SFIO Investigation Report.

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3. The Appeal was filed by the Appellant and the certain other individuals

challenging the orders dated 18.07.2019, Appellant has filed Company Appeal

No. 215/2019 Uday Ved Vs. Union of India. All the appeals including the

appeal of the Appellant came to be heard and dismissed by this Tribunal vide

judgment dated 04.03.2020. Appeals were filed in the Hon'ble Supreme Court

challenging the said order. Appeal was filed by the Appellant, Civil Appeal No.

3014/2020 which appeal was dismissed as withdrawn on 05.04.2021. After

dismissal of the appeal on 05.04.2021 by the Hon'ble Supreme Court

Appellant filed the CA No. 121/2022 praying for recall/review of the judgment

order dated 18.07.2019 with other reliefs which has been dismissed by the

NCLT.

Learned Counsel for the Appellant challenging the orders submits that

the order dated 18.07.2019 by which impleadment was directed on the basis

of fact that independent directors were in the Audit Committee whereas

Appellant was only independent director and was not in the Audit Committee

and his impleadment could not have been made. He further submits that two

other independent directors who were impleaded namely Neera Saggi and

Renu Challu have filed the Appeal in the Supreme Court in Civil No.

2841/2020 and 3531/2020 which appeals have been decided by order dated

15.02.2021 remanding the matters of Neera Saggi and Renu Challu. It is

submitted that Appellant's case was similarly situated to those Neera Saggi

and Renu Challu and the appeal filed by the Appellant was withdrawn from

the Supreme Court. Hence, Application ought to have considered on the

merits by the NCLT and Adjudicating Authority committed error.

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Learned Counsel appearing for the Respondent submits that the

Application which was filed by the Appellant in CA No. 121/2023 before NCLT

was not maintainable to recall/review order dated 18.07.2019. It is submitted

that order 18.07.2019 was challenging in appeal before the NCLAT which

appeal was dismissed. Hence, the order dated 18.07.2019 merged with the

order of this Tribunal and the fact that Civil Appeal filed against the said order

was also dismissed as withdrawn shall have no effect on the merger and the

application was clearly not maintainable to recall the order 18.07.2019. It is

further submitted that the sheet anchor of the argument of the Appellant is

order of the Supreme Court in Neera Saggi and Renu Challu whereas the said

judgment was decided on 15.02.2021 and after the said judgment appeal of

the Appellant was taken and appellant was directed to file an affidavit and

after considering the said affidavit the order dated 05.04.2021 was passed in

the Appellant's appeal permitting it to be withdrawn. Thus, Supreme Court

itself looked into the order passed by the Supreme Court in Neera Saggi and

Renu Challu case.

We have considered the submissions of the Learned Counsel for the

parties and perused the record. Vide order dated 18.07.2019 the Appellant

was impleaded in proceedings under Section 241 and 242 filed by the Union

of India on the basis of SFIO Investigation Report. Appellant filed an appeal

and challenged the said order which appeal came to be dismissed by

judgment of this Tribunal which Appeal No. 215/2019 came to be dismissed

by this Tribunal on 04.03.2020. Against the said order appeal was filed in

Supreme Court by the Appellant in the Supreme Court which has been

3 dismissed as withdrawn. The order of this Supreme Court on 05.04.2025 is

as follows:

1. Mr. K V Vishwanathan, Learned Senior Counsel appearing

on behalf of the Appellant states that Mr T R B Sivakumar,

Advocate on Record has written instructions to the effect that

the appellant would withdraw the present appeal in order to

enable him to pursue appropriate remedies in accordance with

law before the National Company Law Tribunal.

2. The Civil Appeal is dismissed as withdrawn in the above

terms. This Court has expressed no opinion with respect to any

of the proposed remedies on which the rights and contentions

of the parties are kept open.

4. The order passed by the Supreme Court clearly indicate that the appeal

was dismissed as withdrawn on the statement made by Counsel for the

Appellant that Appellant could withdraw the present appeal in order to enable

him to pursue the appropriate remedy in accordance with law before the

National Company Law Tribunal. The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal

as withdrawn but has further observed that it is not expressing an opinion

with respect to any of the proposed remedies in which the right contentions

of the parties are kept open. The first argument which has been raised by the

Respondent is that Application which was filed by the Appellant in CA No.

121/2022 was not maintainable to recall and review the order dated

18.07.2019. When the order passed by NCLT dated 18.07.2019 was

challenged by the Appellant in Company Appeal in 215/2019 which appeal

4 was heard and dismissed on merits by this Tribunal. The order dated

18.07.2019 has merged with the Appellate Order and mere fact that appellant

filed an appeal in the Supreme Court which was withdrawn shall have no

effect on the merger of the order dated 18.07.2019 with the Appellate order.

Order dated 18.07.2019 does not continue to available to the appellant for

filing any application to review or recall the judgment. On this ground, we are

of the view that order rejecting the CA No. 121/2022 has to be upheld.

Moreover, the Counsel for the Appellant has made much emphasis on the

order passed by Supreme Court in cases of Neera Saggi and Renu Challu. The

judgment of the Supreme Court in Company Appeal of Neera Saggi and Renu

Challu was delivered by the Supreme Court on 15.02.2021 in Civil Appeal No.

2841/2020. The appeal was allowed and matter was remanded for NCLT to

apply its mind and issue as to whether the Appellant was to be impleaded.

When the appeal of the Appellant came for consideration on 12.03.2021. The

Reliance was placed by the Counsel for the Appellant on the judgment of the

Supreme Court dated 15.02.2021 in Neera Saggi and Renu Challu and

Supreme Court directed the Appellant to file an affidavit making specific

disclosure as directed by the Supreme Court.

5. Appellant thereafter filed an affidavit and it was only thereafter on

05.04.2021 the appeal was dismissed as withdrawn. Thus, the arguments

which is pressed before us that in the similar matters, the Supreme Court in

Neera Saggi and Renu Challu has remanded the matter was raised before the

Supreme Court itself and in spite of the said judgments the appeal was prayed

to be withdrawn and has been dismissed and withdrawn. We are of the view

5 that the above submissions also does not help the Appellant in the present

case. We do not find any merit in the appeal, the appeal is dismissed.

[Justice Ashok Bhusan] (Chairperson)

[Barun Mitra] Member (Technical)

MT/MD

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