Ambiguities In Uploading Of NCLT Orders, Requirement Of Enclosing Certified Copies With Appeal : Supreme Court Seeks IBBI Clarification

The Bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta has issued notice considering that there is “considerable ambiguity” in certain issues concerning the service of the orders passed by the National Company Law Tribunal, uploading of orders on the website, and the one mentioned above.

"We are also inclined to issue notice to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India, as there appears to be considerable ambiguity concerning service of the orders passed by the National Company Law Tribunal, uploading of orders on the website and also the requirement to obtain a certified copy of the order and enclose the same with the appeal."

In view of this, the Insolvency Board has been asked to examine whether the process requires any clarification, modification, or simplification.

To state the facts briefly, the instant matter has its genesis from the insolvency of M/s Soni Realtors Pvt. Ltd. The Tribunal had approved the resolution plan submitted by the Resolution Applicant (Srijan Infra LLP). Against this order, around thirteen appeals were filed before the Appellate Tribunal. Pertinently, the tribunal dismissed certain appeals on the ground that the appeals were filed without annexing the certified copy of the impugned order. Further, the certified copies were filed after the expiry of the period of the limitation period.

To support this view, several judgments highlighting the mandatory requirement of annexing the certified copy of the impugned order with the appeal, were cited. While discussing the ratio of those precedents, the Tribunal also observed it may exempt the parties from such compliance. However, there is no automatic exemption where the litigants makes no efforts to pursue a timely resolution of their grievance.

The appeals that were dismissed by the Tribunal were filed without any application for seeking exemption from filing certified copy. In view of this aforestated background, a Special Leave Petition was filed before the Top Court.

The Division Bench, along with issuing notice in the above issue, has also issued notice in the present matter.

Case Title: Manan Chopra and ors vs Soni RealtorsPvt Ltd., Civil Appeal No. 5452/2024

Click here to read the order