Central Government appeal dismissed by Supreme Court for exceeding scope of removal of difficulties provision.

The Supreme Court held that the appeal filed by the Central Government was not maintainable due to exceeding the scope of the removal of difficulties provision. The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal's decision was upheld on maintainability grounds, setting aside the part dealing with limitation and declaring the Scheme illegal. The Court revived writ petitions before the High Court of Delhi, granting liberty to amend within four weeks. The High Court was directed to expedite proceedings, keeping all points open for consideration. The appeals were disposed of, and pending applications were deemed disposed of as well, with instructions for swift resolution by the High Court.

---

---

Issues:
1. Maintainability of appeal filed by Central Government.
2. Adjudication on limitation aspect and merits of the case.
3. Alternative remedy of filing an appeal before NCLAT.
4. Dismissal of appeals by NCLAT.
5. Revival of writ petitions before High Court of Delhi.
6. Directions to High Court for expeditious proceedings.
7. Disposal of appeals and pending applications.

Analysis:
1. The Supreme Court considered the issue of the maintainability of the appeal filed by the Central Government. The Court agreed with the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) that the appeal was not maintainable due to the Notification dated 24.05.2017 exceeding the scope of the removal of difficulties provision. The Court held that the NCLAT should not have adjudicated on the limitation aspect or the merits of the Scheme. The judgment of the NCLAT was upheld on the ground of maintainability, and the part dealing with the limitation aspect and the declaration of the Scheme as illegal was set aside.

2. Regarding the adjudication on limitation and merits, the Supreme Court addressed Civil Appeal No. 8247 of 2018 and Civil Appeal D. No. 33241/2018. The appellants had initially approached the High Court of Delhi in writ petitions, which directed them to file an appeal before the NCLAT due to the Notification dated 24.05.2017. Since the impugned judgment set aside this Notification, the NCLAT dismissed the appeals. The Supreme Court revived the writ petitions before the High Court of Delhi and granted liberty to the appellants to amend the petitions within four weeks.

3. The Court emphasized the alternative remedy of filing an appeal before the NCLAT, which was followed by the appellants in the mentioned appeals. However, due to the change in circumstances with the setting aside of the Notification, the appeals were dismissed, leading to the revival of the writ petitions before the High Court.

4. The Supreme Court directed the High Court of Delhi to expedite the proceedings on the revived writ petitions. The parties were instructed to complete pleadings promptly, and all points available in fact and law were to be kept open for consideration.

5. With the above observations and directions, the appeals were disposed of, and pending applications were deemed disposed of as well. The Supreme Court provided clear instructions for the further handling of the case by the High Court of Delhi to ensure a swift resolution of the matter.

---