Supreme Court Sets Aside NCLAT Order Over Limitation Lapse in Insolvency Appeal
New Delhi, August 12, 2025 — The Supreme Court has overturned a National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) judgment in the corporate insolvency case of Ashdan Properties Pvt. Ltd. & Ors. vs. DSK Global Education and Research Pvt. Ltd. & Anr., ruling that the appeal before the NCLAT was defective and barred by limitation.
A Bench of Justice Sanjay Kumar and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma allowed Ashdan Properties’ appeal, holding that the NCLAT erred in entertaining DSK Global’s challenge despite statutory procedural lapses that struck at the very root of its jurisdiction.
Background of the Case
The dispute arose from a June 23, 2023 order of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Mumbai Bench, which approved Ashdan Properties’ resolution plan for a corporate debtor. DSK Global, aggrieved by the approval, e-filed its appeal before the NCLAT on July 25, 2023.
However, the filing was incomplete — it lacked a certified copy of the NCLT order and was submitted without any application seeking exemption from that requirement or for condonation of delay. DSK Global only applied for the certified copy on August 23, 2023, received it on September 7, and filed an application for condonation of a two-day delay on September 22.
Ashdan Properties argued before the NCLAT that the appeal was time-barred and defective under Section 61(2) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), which prescribes a 30-day appeal period (extendable by 15 days) and mandates compliance with procedural rules.
The Supreme Court found that the limitation period began on June 23, 2023, the date the NCLT pronounced the order in open court, not June 26, when it was uploaded online. Under Rule 22(2) of the NCLAT Rules, 2016, every appeal “shall” be accompanied by a certified copy of the impugned order. No application for exemption or condonation was filed at the time of appeal, and subsequent compliance was both delayed and procedurally flawed. The NCLAT wrongly ignored the limitation objection, possibly because it clubbed multiple appeals in its July 1, 2024 judgment.
Citing its earlier rulings in V. Nagarajan v. SKS Ispat & Power Ltd. and A. Rajendra v. Gonugunta Madhusudhan Rao, the Supreme Court reiterated that the IBC mandates strict adherence to timelines, and procedural lapses in filing appeals cannot be condoned casually.
Case Details
Case Title: Ashdan Properties Pvt. Ltd. And Others Versus Dsk Global Education And Research Pvt. Ltd.
Case No.: CIVIL APPEAL NO. 10603 OF 2024
Date: 12/08/2025
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