Regional Provident Fund Commissioner Vs Jasin Jose (NCLAT Chennai)
The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal, Chennai dismissed a company appeal challenging the rejection of a belated claim filed during liquidation proceedings under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016. The appeal arose from an order of the NCLT, Kochi Bench, which had rejected an application seeking consideration of a claim filed with a delay of 953 days before the liquidator. The Appellate Tribunal first dealt with two interlocutory applications seeking condonation of delay in filing and refiling the appeal. Finding the explanations satisfactory and within the statutory limits under Section 61 of the I&B Code, the Tribunal condoned the delays of 45 days in refiling and 12 days in filing the appeal.
On merits, the Tribunal noted that the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process commenced on 19.11.2019 and liquidation was ordered on 04.06.2021, with public notice inviting claims fixing 08.07.2021 as the last date. Despite having knowledge of the liquidation process, the appellant filed its claim in Form G only on 20.02.2024. The liquidator rejected the claim on 26.02.2024, and the NCLT upheld the rejection.
The Appellate Tribunal held that Section 38 of the I&B Code mandates filing of claims within 30 days of commencement of liquidation. While belated claims may be considered in exceptional circumstances if the delay is reasonably explained, no such circumstances existed in the present case. The Tribunal observed that the appellant failed to offer any cogent explanation for the inordinate delay of 953 days and instead focused on justifying the merits of the claim rather than the delay. The precedents cited by the appellant were found irrelevant, as they did not address condonation of delay. Given the admitted delay and prior intimation of liquidation, the Tribunal held that the claim was rightly rejected and did not deserve condonation. Accordingly, the appeal was dismissed, and all pending applications were closed.
