Case Background
State Bank of India (SBI) filed an appeal under Section 7 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), which was dismissed by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on grounds of maintainability. SBI’s subsequent appeal to the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) was delayed by three days beyond the 30-day period stipulated under Section 61(2) of the IBC.
Divergent Views in NCLAT
The NCLAT Judicial Member argued that a “free of cost” copy of the judgment, rather than a paid certified copy, could not be used to compute limitation, while the Technical Member saw no distinction between them. This divergence was referred to a third member, who upheld the Judicial Member’s stance, leading to dismissal of the appeal.
Supreme Court’s Analysis
- The Court examined Rule 50 of the NCLT Rules and Rule 22 of the NCLAT Rules.
- Rule 50 allows the NCLT Registry to send a certified copy of the final order free of cost. The Court observed that both paid and free certified copies are treated equally under Rule 50.
- The Supreme Court clarified that a litigant could rely on a free certified copy to meet the limitation requirements, given that it was provided within the permissible condonable delay.
Distinguishing Precedent
The Court differentiated this case from V Nagarajan v. SKS Ispat and Power Ltd., where it was held that litigants could not await a free copy to bypass limitation. In SBI’s case, the appeal was filed within the additional 15-day condonable period after obtaining the free copy, justifying the delay.
Conclusion
The Court allowed the appeal, set aside NCLAT’s dismissal, and condoned SBI’s delay, restoring the appeal in the NCLAT.