Supreme Court Criticizes NCLAT’s Long Order on Delay Condonation Application Despite High Pendency of Cases [Read Judgement]
The Supreme Court overturned the NCLAT's November 7, 2023 judgment, granted the plea for a delay condonation, and instructed the NCLAT to hold the appeal hearing in compliance with the law
![Supreme Court Criticizes NCLAT’s Long Order on Delay Condonation Application Despite High Pendency of Cases [Read Judgement]](https://www.taxscan.in/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Supreme-Court-NCLAT-Supreme-Court-Criticizes-NCLAT-taxscan.jpg "Supreme Court Criticizes NCLAT’s Long Order on Delay Condonation Application Despite High Pendency of Cases [Read Judgement]")
The supreme court while setting aside the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) order that rejected an application for condonation of delay in filing an appeal under Section 61 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 , expressed the wonder on action of spenting a great deal of time and energy crafting a 17-page ruling on a delay condonation application, despite having a...
The supreme court while setting aside the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) order that rejected an application for condonation of delay in filing an appeal under Section 61 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 , expressed the wonder on action of spenting a great deal of time and energy crafting a 17-page ruling on a delay condonation application, despite having a large backlog of cases pending. The Supreme Court criticized the approach of NCLAT.
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The division bench consisting of Justices Abhay Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan observed that “We wonder why the NCLAT which has a high pendency should devote so much of time and energy in writing an order running into 17 pages for considering the application for condonation of delay. While we say this, we cannot ignore that some times, such long orders are required to be written due to verbose and unnecessary long submissions of the members of the Bar. We find from the decisions after decisions which come before us that in many cases, the members of the Bar make very lengthy submissions before the NCLAT and file lengthy pleadings and affidavits in an application for the condonation of delay”.
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On November 7, 2023, the NCLAT denied the request for a delay condonation in a 17-page ruling. Then, on December 15, 2023, the appellant went to the Supreme Court. The Court observed that it had been considering the appeal for more than 13 months.
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The IBC's Section 61(2) stipulates that an appeal be submitted within 30 days. This section's proviso permits a maximum extension of 15 days in the event that adequate justification is shown. The 15-day extension in this instance ended on November 11, 2022. The appeal was e-filed that same day, but the hard copy was turned in on November 14, 2022, because the NCLAT had holidays for the next two days.
The respondents contended that maintaining the IBC's aim required rigorous adherence to its timeframes. They argued that the goal of the IBC would be compromised if delays were liberally tolerated.
The Court concluded that the NCLAT took a very technical stance in this instance, even though it acknowledged the importance of timeframes under the IBC. The Court determined that the delay was sufficiently explained because the appellant was a foreign corporation and had filed within the 15-day extension period.
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As a result, the Supreme Court overturned the NCLAT's November 7, 2023 judgment, granted the plea for a delay condonation, and instructed the NCLAT to hold the appeal hearing in compliance with the law.
To Read the full text of the Order CLICK HERE
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