Limitation under insolvency law: alleged acknowledgments were insufficient, and the Section 9 application remained time-barred.

An application under Section 9 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code was held time-barred because it was filed more than three years after default, treated as the date payment first became due and remained unpaid. The documents relied on to extend limitation were examined separately under Section 18 of the Limitation Act: a credit note issued by the applicant could not constitute acknowledgment by the respondent, and a document issued by the applicant was likewise ineffective. Although a letter signed by the respondent to a bank could amount to acknowledgment, it did not bring the filing within three years. The application was therefore barred by limitation and liable to be dismissed.

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Issues: Whether the application under Section 9 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 was barred by limitation, and whether the documents relied upon constituted a valid acknowledgment extending limitation under Section 18 of the Limitation Act, 1963.

Analysis: The application was filed beyond three years from the date of default, which was taken as the date when payment first became due and remained unpaid. The documents relied upon to save limitation were examined individually. The credit note issued by the applicant could not amount to an acknowledgment by the respondent. A letter signed by the respondent and addressed to a bank could be treated as an acknowledgment, but even on that basis the application filed on 30.06.2020 remained beyond three years from the latest acknowledgment date. A document issued by the applicant to the respondent was also incapable of constituting an acknowledgment by the respondent.

Conclusion: The application was barred by limitation and was liable to be dismissed.

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