NCLAT can only condone max 15-day delay in filing appeals: SC

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday held that the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) can only condone delays in filing appeals up to a maximum of 15 days.

A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan said Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) prescribed strict timelines for filing appeals and taking legal action to ensure insolvency proceedings were not misused to recover time-barred debts.

Condonation of delay means allowing a court or authority to overlook a delay in filing an appeal or application, even if it's beyond the prescribed time limit.

"The proviso to Section 61(2) clearly limits the NCLAT's jurisdiction to condone delay only up to 15 days beyond the initial 30-day period. Where a statute expressly limits the period within which delay may be condoned, an Appellate Tribunal cannot exceed that limit," the bench said.

The top court said the appellate mechanism under IBC is strictly time-bound by design to preserve the speed and certainty of the insolvency resolution process.

"Time is of the essence in statutory appeals, and the prescribed limitation period must be strictly adhered to. Even a delay of a single day is fatal if the statute does not provide for its condonation. As held by us, the NCLAT has no power to condone delay beyond the period stipulated under the statute. Allowing condonation in such cases would defeat the legislative intent and open the floodgates to belated and potentially frivolous petitions, thereby undermining the efficacy and finality of the appellate mechanism," it said.

The judgement came on an appeal challenging an order passed by the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal which condoned the delay in filing the appeal.