Section 14 limitation exclusion unavailable where a party bypassed the statutory appeal and pursued writ and SLP proceedings without jurisdictional defect.

Section 14 of the Limitation Act, 1963 allows exclusion of time only when the earlier proceeding was pursued with due diligence and in good faith before a court unable to entertain it for want of jurisdiction or a similar defect. On the facts discussed, the appellant, a liquidator, had an available statutory appeal under Section 61 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 but instead pursued writ proceedings and then an SLP. Because the earlier proceedings were not based on a jurisdictional failure of the tribunal and the appellant had been directed toward the statutory appellate remedy, the time spent in those proceedings could not be excluded. The appeal was therefore treated as barred by limitation.

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Issues: Whether the appellant was entitled to exclusion of the time spent in pursuing writ proceedings before the High Court and an SLP before the Supreme Court under Section 14 of the Limitation Act, 1963, so as to treat the appeal under Section 61 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 as within limitation.

Analysis: Section 14 applies only where the earlier proceeding was prosecuted with due diligence and in good faith in a court unable to entertain it because of defect of jurisdiction or a cause of like nature. The earlier writ petition was not treated as a jurisdictional failure of the Adjudicating Authority. The appellant, being a liquidator, was aware of the statutory appellate remedy under the Code, yet chose to pursue writ and then special leave proceedings. The High Court had already relegated the appellant to the statutory appeal, and the Supreme Court merely declined to interfere. The time spent in those proceedings therefore did not satisfy the statutory conditions for exclusion under Section 14.

Conclusion: The appellant was not entitled to exclusion of time under Section 14 of the Limitation Act, 1963, and the appeal was barred by limitation.

Ratio Decidendi: Exclusion of time under Section 14 of the Limitation Act, 1963 is unavailable where the earlier proceedings were not prosecuted with due diligence and good faith in a court lacking jurisdiction or suffering from a defect of like nature, and the statutory appellate remedy was available throughout.

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