Alpesh Vasudev Gandhi Vs Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) & Ors. (NCLAT Delhi)
The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), Delhi, dismissed an appeal filed by Alpesh Vasudev Gandhi against the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) & Ors., ruling that a 17-day delay in filing the appeal was beyond its jurisdiction to condone. The appeal was filed on June 9, 2025, challenging an order pronounced in open court on April 21, 2025. The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), specifically the proviso to Section 61(2), mandates that an appeal must be filed within 30 days, and the NCLAT may only condone a further delay not exceeding 15 days if sufficient cause is shown.
The NCLAT determined that since the order was pronounced in open court on April 21, 2025, the 30-day limitation period began the following day and expired on May 21, 2025. The tribunal granted the appellant an exclusion of two days (April 23-24, 2025) for the time taken to obtain the certified copy. Accounting for this exclusion, the appeal should have been filed by June 7, 2025, marking the end of the maximum 15-day condonable period. Because the appeal was filed on June 9, 2025, the actual delay was 17 days, which exceeds the statutory limit prescribed under the IBC. Given the absolute nature of the Section 61(2) proviso, the NCLAT lacked the power to condone the 17-day delay and, consequently, rejected both the condonation application and the memo of appeal.
