Limitation in insolvency claims bars admission of stale rent arrears where no valid acknowledgment extends time.

A claim for alleged rent arrears was rejected as time-barred because the insolvency process began long after the cause of action arose and no valid acknowledgment of liability after 2016 was shown. The Tribunal applied the principle that the Limitation Act governs insolvency proceedings and that the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code does not revive stale claims. In the absence of a subsisting acknowledgment or other basis extending limitation, the claim could not be admitted in the corporate insolvency resolution process, and the rejection by the resolution professional was upheld.

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Issues: Whether the applicant's claim submitted in the corporate insolvency resolution process was barred by limitation and therefore liable to be rejected.

Analysis: The claim related to alleged rent arrears from 2013 onwards, while the insolvency process commenced in 2020. No material was placed to show acknowledgment of liability after 2016. In the absence of a subsisting acknowledgment, the claim was treated as having become time-barred before commencement of the insolvency process. The Tribunal applied the principle that the Limitation Act applies to proceedings under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, and that the Code cannot revive stale claims. On that basis, the rejection of the claim was held to be justified.

Conclusion: The claim was held to be barred by limitation and the rejection by the resolution professional was upheld.

Final Conclusion: The application challenging rejection of the claim failed, and the impugned rejection was left undisturbed.

Ratio Decidendi: A claim in insolvency proceedings cannot be admitted if it had already become time-barred before commencement of the corporate insolvency resolution process, unless a valid acknowledgment or other legally relevant basis extends limitation.

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