2026 (3) TMI 1458 - AT - IBC

IBC appeal limitation begins on pronouncement, and filing beyond the 45-day outer limit is not condonable.

Section 61(2) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code permits an appeal within 30 days, with a further condonable period of up to 15 days only. Limitation ... Commencement of limitation from pronouncement of order - Maintainability of appeal beyond the condonable period under Section 61(2) of the IBC. Pronouncement in open court - Jurisdictional bar of limitation - HELD THAT: - The Appellate Tribunal held that the scheme of Section 61(2) prescribes a 30-day period for appeal with a further condonable period of 15 days, and that this limit is peremptory and jurisdictional. Relying on V. Nagarajan v. SKS Ispat & Power Ltd. [2021 (10) TMI 941 - SUPREME COURT (LB)] and A. Rajendra Vs Gonugunta Madhusudan Rao [2025 (4) TMI 319 - SUPREME COURT (LB)], it held that once an order is pronounced in open court, knowledge of the order is imputed to the parties and limitation begins from that date. In the present case, the impugned order itself recorded that it was delivered on 21.04.2025 and also recorded appearance of counsel; there was no material to show that the order had not been pronounced in open court on that date, and the appellant had not specifically denied such pronouncement. The Tribunal therefore rejected the contention that limitation should run only from the date of uploading, holding that uploading is merely an administrative act and cannot postpone the statutory commencement of limitation. Since the appeal, even after granting exclusion for the time spent in obtaining the certified copy, was filed beyond the outer 30 plus 15 day limit, the Tribunal lacked power to entertain it. [Paras 7, 8] The appeal was held to be barred by limitation and consequently not maintainable. Final Conclusion: The Appellate Tribunal dismissed the appeal as barred by limitation, holding that the statutory period ran from the date of pronouncement of the impugned order and not from its later uploading. In view of that bar, it declined to examine the merits of the controversy. Issues: Whether the appeal was filed within the period of limitation prescribed under Section 61(2) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, or within the condonable period.Analysis: The statutory scheme under Section 61(2) allows an appeal within 30 days, with a further condonable period not exceeding 15 days. Limitation commences from the date of pronouncement of the order in open court, not from the date of uploading or receipt of a certified copy. The record showed that the impugned order was delivered on 21.04.2025, and there was no material to dislodge the conclusion that it was pronounced on that date. Uploading of the order was only an administrative act and did not postpone the running of limitation. On the admitted dates, the appeal was instituted beyond the outer limit of 45 days, and the statute left no scope for condonation beyond that period.Conclusion: The appeal was time-barred and not maintainable.