Review petition dismissed; remand justified for reconsideration of BIFR order when assessing limitation under Section 7 IBC

The HC dismissed the review petition, finding no merit in the petitioner's claim that remand to the NCLT was improper. The court held that, if aggrieved, the petitioner should have appealed to a higher forum. The HC noted it remanded the matter to the NCLT because the NCLT had not considered a BIFR order when assessing limitation under Section 7 of the IBC, and directed the NCLT to decide afresh after considering the BIFR order if placed on record. The review petition was therefore dismissed.

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The interlocutory review application sought review of the order dated 17.02.2022 in C.R.P.No.210 of 2020 which set aside the impugned order and remanded the matter to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Amaravati, to decide afresh after hearing parties and "taking into consideration the order passed by the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR)". The petitioner contended that no new material or pleadings on remand could lead to a different conclusion. The Court declined review, observing that the remand was justified because the NCLT had not considered the BIFR order when holding that the Section 7 Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 application was "within the period of limitation". Reliance was placed on authoritative precedents setting out the principles and narrow scope of review (including Haridas Das v. Usha Rani Banik and others), and applying those principles the review petition was dismissed.

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