IBC moratorium does not bar an appeal pursued by the corporate debtor through the Resolution Professional.

The moratorium under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 bars only the institution or continuation of proceedings against the corporate debtor, including execution proceedings, and does not prevent proceedings initiated on its behalf. An appeal filed by the corporate debtor through the Resolution Professional was therefore not barred merely because insolvency proceedings had been admitted. Although the erstwhile directors were functus officio, the tribunal erred in treating that as a reason to dismiss the appeal for want of jurisdiction under the moratorium. The dismissal on that ground was unsustainable, and the appeal was restored to the tribunal.

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Issues: Whether the Tribunal was justified in dismissing the appeal filed by the corporate debtor on the ground that insolvency proceedings and the moratorium under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 barred the appeal.

Analysis: Section 14(1) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 prohibits only the institution or continuation of proceedings against the corporate debtor, including execution proceedings. It does not prohibit proceedings initiated by the corporate debtor. The admitted insolvency petition and the resulting moratorium therefore did not bar the appeal when it was filed through the Resolution Professional. The Tribunal correctly noted that the erstwhile directors had become functus officio, but erred in overlooking that the appeal itself was being pursued on behalf of the corporate debtor through the Resolution Professional.

Conclusion: The dismissal of the appeal on the ground of moratorium was unsustainable and was set aside; the appeal was restored to the Tribunal, in favour of the Petitioner.

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