Limitation under insolvency law: Section 4 cannot extend the separate 15-day condonable appeal period.

Section 4 of the Limitation Act, 1963 applies only to the prescribed limitation period and does not extend the separate 15-day condonable period under Section 61(2) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016. The article explains that an appeal must be filed within 30 days from pronouncement, with only a further discretionary extension on sufficient cause. It also states that the additional period cannot be enlarged merely because the court was closed, and that the absence of any disclosed application for a certified copy did not preserve limitation. The appeal was therefore treated as time-barred and condonation beyond the statutory limit was refused.

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Issues: Whether the appeal was barred by limitation and whether the benefit of Section 4 of the Limitation Act, 1963 could extend the condonable period under Section 61(2) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016.

Analysis: The limitation under Section 61(2) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 runs for 30 days from the date of pronouncement, with a further discretionary period of 15 days available only on sufficient cause. The Court applied the distinction between the 'prescribed period' and the condonable period and held that Section 4 of the Limitation Act, 1963 operates only when the prescribed period expires on a day when the court is closed. Relying on the Supreme Court's exposition, the Court held that the additional 15-day period is not part of the prescribed period and therefore cannot be enlarged by court vacation. The appeal had been filed after expiry of the 30-day period and beyond the outer 15-day condonable period, and no basis was shown for extending limitation by Section 4. The absence of any disclosed application for a certified copy did not save the appeal from limitation.

Conclusion: The appeal was held to be time-barred and the request for condonation beyond the statutory limit was rejected.

Ratio Decidendi: Section 4 of the Limitation Act, 1963 applies only to the prescribed limitation period and cannot extend the separate, discretionary condonable period under Section 61(2) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016.

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