Limitation for insolvency claims under Article 137 bars a Section 9 application filed more than three years after default.

An application under Section 9 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code is governed by Article 137 of the Limitation Act, 1963, and must be filed within three years from the date of default. Here, the alleged unpaid salary claim related to September 2014 to May 2015, with default stated as 30.09.2015, but the application was filed on 15.05.2019. As it was filed beyond the three-year limitation period and no valid condonation basis was shown, the application was held time-barred and not admissible.

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Issues: Whether the Section 9 insolvency application was barred by limitation under Article 137 of the Limitation Act, 1963 and therefore not liable to be admitted.

Analysis: The claim arose from unpaid salary allegedly due for the period from September 2014 to May 2015, and the stated date of default was 30.09.2015. The application was filed on 15.05.2019, which was beyond three years from the date when the right to apply accrued. Article 137 applies to applications under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code from the inception of the Code, and a petition filed beyond three years from default is barred unless delay is condoned on legally recognised grounds.

Conclusion: The application was barred by limitation and was not admissible. The finding is against the petitioner.

Ratio Decidendi: An application under Section 9 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 is governed by Article 137 of the Limitation Act, 1963, and if filed more than three years after default, it is time-barred unless delay is validly condoned.

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