Limitation under IBC cannot shift to an arbitral award unless the pleaded default date is formally amended.

In a Section 7 IBC context, limitation could not be extended on the basis of an arbitral award where the original pleaded date of default remained 12.11.2018 and was never formally amended. The analysis treats the pleaded default date as the foundation of the limitation case, and holds that any change in the basis for limitation must be brought on record through proper amendment. Mere reference to the arbitral award in the petition or oral reliance on it was insufficient to alter the pleaded cause of action. The matter therefore required reconsideration only on the basis of amended pleadings, if any.

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Issues: Whether the adjudicating authority could extend limitation on the basis of an arbitral award when the original date of default pleaded in the Section 7 application was not formally amended.

Analysis: The application under Section 7 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code was filed with the date of default pleaded as 12.11.2018. Although the arbitral award dated 28.04.2022 was referred to in the petition and was part of the record, the pleaded date of default was never formally altered. The determination of limitation depended on whether the award could be treated as giving rise to a fresh cause of action for insolvency proceedings without an amendment to the pleadings. The reasoning in the cited authorities was read to mean that once a particular default date is pleaded, any shift in the basis of limitation must be brought on record through proper amendment, and mere oral reliance on the award is insufficient to change the pleaded foundation.

Conclusion: The extension of limitation on the basis of the arbitral award without a formal amendment to the pleadings was unsustainable, and the matter required reconsideration on the basis of amended pleadings, if any.

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