Litigant Cannot Suffer for NCLAT E-Filing Glitch: Supreme Court Restores Appeal

Supreme Court protects litigant from consequences of tribunal portal failure

The Supreme Court held that a litigant cannot be non-suited merely because an appeal was filed a day late when the delay occurred because of a technical defect in the NCLAT’s own e-filing system.

The matter arose under Section 61(2) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, which provides a thirty-day limitation period, extendable by a further fifteen days. The appellant attempted to e-file within the condonable period, but the filing could not be completed because of portal issues, including OTP delivery failure. The appeal was eventually filed the next day.

The NCLAT refused condonation and dismissed the appeal as time-barred. The Supreme Court found that the appellant had acted bona fide and that the delay was not caused by negligence, ignorance or inaction.

Final outcome: The Supreme Court set aside the NCLAT order and restored the appeal, holding that portal failure on the tribunal’s side could not be used to shut out a litigant at the threshold.

Bench: Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Sheel Nagu

Source: LiveLaw