We are pleased to announce that Argus Partners represented Tata Steel Ltd. in an appeal before the Supreme Court challenging the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal’s ("NCLAT") decision to condone delay in filing an appeal against the resolution plan of Rohit Ferro-Tech Ltd.

The Supreme Court held that the NCLAT has no jurisdiction to condone delay beyond the statutorily prescribed period of 15 days for filing an appeal under Section 61(2) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 ("IBC"). The Court set aside the NCLAT’s order, reaffirming that statutory tribunals cannot extend limitation periods beyond what is explicitly permitted by the law.

Emphasizing the strict nature of statutory timelines, the Court noted: “Even a delay of a single day is fatal if the statute does not provide for its condonation… Allowing condonation in such cases would defeat the legislative intent and open the floodgates to belated and potentially frivolous petitions.”

This judgement sets an important precedent on the limited powers of appellate tribunals in condoning delays in IBC-related appeals.

The team at Argus Partners representing Tata Steel comprised Udit Mendiratta, Arka Majumdar, Pooja Chakrabarti (Partners), Kiran Sharma (Principal Associate - Designate), Shivkrit Rai (Senior Associate) and Apeksha Singh (Associate).