Yogeshkumar Jashwantlal Thakkar vs George Samuel Resolution Professional ...
- CitationCompany Appeal (AT) (Insolvency) No. 1417 of 2024
Ratio decidendi
The rule this decision rests on
Where an appellant has commenced the filing of an appeal within the statutory period of limitation (including the condonable fifteen-day period), with the appeal documents successfully uploaded on the e-filing portal and advance notice served on the other party before the period expired, the fact that the payment of the filing fee was completed a few minutes after midnight on the following day does not, by itself, render the appeal filed beyond the condonable period, and the delay application cannot be rejected on that ground. Where the appellant has shown a plausible explanation for the delay in the form of business travel, supported by documentary material, and the filing was in substance completed within the condonable period, sufficient cause exists to condone the delay in filing the appeal.
Written by Miss Lucy from the judgment below, not taken from a headnote.
Judgment
As delivered
Yogeshkumar Jashwantlal Thakkar & Anr. ....Appellants Vs.
George Samuel, Resolution Professional of Jason ...Respondents Dekor Pvt. Ltd. & Ors.
For Appellants: Mr. Saurabh Kalia, Mr. Prakhar Dixit, Mr. Dhruvit. Shah, Mr. Kiran Shah, Advocates
For Respondents: Mr. Madhusudan Sharma, Mr. Vishal Agarwal, Advocates for R-1/RP. Mr. Venkateshwara Perumal, Ms. Swati Sood, Mr. Sanyam Mehdiratta, Ms. Anjali Jain, Mr. Sagar Aggarwal, Advocates for R-2.
ORDER
(29 th October, 2024)
Ashok Bhushan, J.
This is an application filed by the Applicants praying for Condonation
of 15 days' delay in filing the Appeal. Notices were issued on Delay
Condonation Application on 07.08.2024 in this Appeal. Reply has been filed
to the Delay Condonation Application by the Respondent Nos.1 & 2 to which
Rejoinder has also been filed by the Appellants.
2. Appellants' case in the Delay Condonation Application is that the order
impugned was passed on 10.05.2024 and 30 days' limitation period was 2
there till 09.06.2024. It is the case of the Appellant that 15 days' condonable
period is available from 09.06.2024 i.e. till 24.06.2024 and Appellant has
uploaded the Appeal and other requisite documents on NCLAT e-filing portal
on 24.06.2024 at 11:45 PM. It is pleaded that however, due to technical
glitches in the e-filing portal, the process could not be completed until
25.06.2024 at 12:06 AM, hence, filing of the Appeal has to be treated within
15 days and the Appeal which was filed on 24.06.2024 cannot be treated to
beyond condonable period.
3. In the reply which has been filed by the Respondents, it is pleaded that
the final process of filing the Appeal was completed on 25.06.2024 since fee
which is required to be paid for filing an Appeal could be generated on
25.06.2024, hence, the filing of the Appeal was completed on 25.06.2024.
Hence, the Delay Condonation Application has been filed beyond 45 days.
25.06.2024 being the 46th day, hence, the application which is beyond
condonable period needs to be rejected.
4. Appellants' further case in support of the Delay Condonation
Application is that on account of the initiation of the CIRP, Appellant to carry
on his business had to travel. He has also brought on the record Boarding
Passes of travels from Ahmedabad to Kochi dated 10.06.2024. It is submitted
that due to the travels with regard to business, delay was caused in filing the
Appeal. In application for condonation of delay, Appellant has filed a
screenshot from the e-filing portal of the NCLAT where three documents were
successfully uploaded by the Appellant on 24.06.2024 which included the
IA No.5153 of 2024 IN Company Appeal (AT) (Insolvency) No. 1417 of 2024 3
Appeal with the filing no.9910105072212024. Screenshot of the e-filing
portal relied by the Appellant is as follows:-
Party Name Party Serial Misc. No. Filed date Doc File View Type No. Type Name
Yogeshkumar Petitioner 1 9910105072212024 24-06-2024 Appeal JDPL-
Jashwantlal APPEAL- Thakkar VOL 1.pdf
Yogeshkumar Petitioner 1 9910105072212024 24-06-2024 Appeal JDPL- Jashwantlal APPEAL- Thakkar VOL 2.pdf
Yogeshkumar Petitioner 1 9910105072212024 24-06-2024 Proof of PROOF Jashwantlal Service OF Thakkar SERVIC E pdf
5. On the other hand, Counsel for the Respondents contends that the fee
for filing the Appeal could be uploaded only on 25.06.2024 with filing no.
9910105072212024. It is submitted that the date of filing of the appeal has
to be treated as 25.06.2024, hence, the submission of the Appellants that it
was filed on 45th day cannot be accepted.
6. The dispute between the parties lies at a very narrow compass.
Submission of the Respondents is that it having been filed on 25.06.2024
which is beyond 15 days condonable period, delay condonation application
deserves to be rejected since jurisdiction to condone the delay is only of 15
days. Reliance was placed by the Counsel for the Respondents on judgment
of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in "National Spot Exchange Limited vs. Mr.
Anil Kohli, Resolution Professional for Dunar Foods Limited- Civil IA No.5153 of 2024 IN Company Appeal (AT) (Insolvency) No. 1417 of 2024 4
Appeal No. 6187 of 2019" decided on 14.09.2021 and the judgment of the
Hon'ble Supreme Court in "V. Nagarajan vs. SKS Ispat and Power Ltd. &
Ors.- (2022) 2 SCC 244". There can be no dispute to the proposition that
condonable period after expiry of limitation is only 15 days and jurisdiction
of this Tribunal is only to 15 days. Thus, whether the benefit of limitation i.e.
filing of the process of the Appeal which began admittedly on 24.06.2024
which was 15th day for filing the Appeal can be extended to the Appellant is
the question to be answered. We have already extracted the screenshot of e-
filing portal brought on the record by the Appellant along with Delay
Condonation Application which indicates that the Appellant could upload the
Appeal on 24.06.2024 itself which is reflected in the screenshot. It is true
that the fee for filing the appeal could be uploaded on 25.06.2024 at 12:06
AM. It is also admitted fact that the Corporate Debtor has also received the
advance notice of the Appeal on 24.06.2024 itself at 11:55 PM. Paragraph 8
of the reply filed by the Respondent No.1 itself indicate that the advance
notice was received at 11:55 PM on 24.06.2024. Advance notice was also
served to the corporate debtor on 11:55 PM and Appeal was uploaded by the
Appellant before 12:00 PM on 24.06.2024 which is apparent from the
screenshot. The mere fact that uploading a fee for filing the appeal which
took further 6 minutes after 12.00 P.M. is not a ground to reject the Delay
Condonation Application on the ground that it is filed beyond 15 days.
Insofar as explanation of delay of 15 days in filing the appeal, Appellant has
pleaded that he has been travelling and one of the boarding passes dated
10.06.2024 has also brought on record.
IA No.5153 of 2024
IN Company Appeal (AT) (Insolvency) No. 1417 of 2024 5
7. We, thus, are of the view that the delay condonation application
cannot be rejected in the facts and sequence of the events as noticed above.
We find sufficient cause in condoning the delay in filing the appeal. Delay is
condoned.
8. List the appeal 'for admission' on 07.11.2024.
[Justice Ashok Bhushan] Chairperson
[Barun Mitra] Member (Technical)
[Arun Baroka] Member (Technical) New Delhi Anjali
IA No.5153 of 2024 IN Company Appeal (AT) (Insolvency) No. 1417 of 2024
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