Wadhwa Rubber vs Bandex Packaging Pvt. Ltd
- CitationCompany Appeal (AT) (Ins.) No. 576 OF 2021
Ratio decidendi
The rule this decision rests on
Where the time for appeal runs from the date of an order and the appellant relies on obtaining a certified copy, the limitation period under Section 61 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 is computed from the date on which the certified copy was prepared, not from the date on which it was delivered to the appellant. An appellant who has actual knowledge of the dismissal of its application, having been represented by counsel, cannot extend the statutory limitation period by delaying its application for a certified copy; the non-supply of a copy free of cost does not excuse a delay of about a year in seeking one. An appeal filed beyond the 30-day period under Section 61(1), together with the additional 15-day period under the proviso to Section 61(2), is time-barred, and the Appellate Authority may condone delay only upon being satisfied that there is sufficient cause for it.
Written by Miss Lucy from the judgment below, not taken from a headnote.
Judgment
As delivered
Wadhwa Rubber ...Appellant
Versus
Bandex Packaging Pvt. Ltd. ...Respondent
For Appellant: Mr. Mohit Aggarwal, Advocate For Respondents: None
ORDER
24.08.2022: This appeal is directed against the order dated 08.01.2020
by which an application filed under Section 9 of the Insolvency and
Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (in short 'Code') has been dismissed.
2. We have found from the record that the Appellant had applied for the
certified copy of the order dated 08.01.2020 on 10.02.2021 i.e. almost after a
year. The copy of the order was prepared on 17.02.2021. It was taken by the
Appellant on 06.04.2021 and then the appeal is filed on 04.08.2021. During
the Course of the hearing, the Appellant was asked as to why the appeal was
not filed within 30 days from the date of the order dated 08.01.2020. In this
regard, he submitted that the copy which is to be given free of cost was not
supplied and therefore, the certified copy was applied on 10.02.2021 and when
it was delivered, the appeal was filed which is within limitation.
3. We have heard Counsel for the Appellant and perused the record.
4. The application filed under Section 9 of the Code by the Appellant was
dismissed on 08.01.2020. It cannot be imagined that the factum of dismissal
of the application was not within the knowledge of the Appellant who was
represented by the Counsel. Despite that, the Appellant did not care to apply
for the certified copy for over a year and has made a lame excuse that it was
to be supplied free of cost. However, the certified copy appears to have been
applied on 10.02.2021 and was prepared on 17.02.2021 but the Appellant
spent almost two months even in taking the certified copy from the Tribunal.
It is well settled that the limitation is to be counted not from the date of delivery
of the certified copy but from the date of preparation of the certified copy. In
this case it was prepared on 17.02.2021 and if the limitation is to be counted
from 17.02.2021 the same had expired much earlier than the date of filing of
the appeal on 04.08.2021.
5. Thus, looking from any angle, the appeal filed by the Appellant is
without limitation provided under Section 61 of the Code of a period of 30 days
and Section 61(2) proviso an additional period of 15 days for which discretion
is granted to the Appellate Authority to condone only on being satisfied that
there is a sufficient cause for condonation of delay.
6. In view of the aforesaid facts and circumstances, the present appeal is
hereby dismissed as being barred by limitation.
[Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain] Member (Judicial)
[Dr. Alok Srivastava] Member (Technical) SC/RR
This page reproduces a public judgment and a summary of it. It is research material, not legal advice, and it is no substitute for advice from an advocate on your own facts.
Research this judgment with Miss Lucy
Ask what it holds, what has followed it, and what it means for your matter — in plain English, with the citations.
Try Miss Lucy free