# In the matter of Sumeet Maheshwari Vs. Navbharat Press (Bhopal) Private Limited & Anr. Company Appeal (AT) (Insolvency) No. 197 of 2020

> NCLAT judgment dated 2020-05-29. Citation: TCN-2020-NCLAT-00254. This is a Company Appeal (AT) (Insolvency) No. 197 of 2020 arising out of an order dated 16th…

- **Court:** NCLAT
- **Order date:** 29 May 2020
- **Citation:** TCN-2020-NCLAT-00254
- **Category:** IBC
- **Source page:** https://caseease.in/cases/ibc/nclat-new-delhi/sumeet-maheshwari-vs-navbharat-press-184dd779

## Summary

### Background

This is a Company Appeal (AT) (Insolvency) No. 197 of 2020 arising out of an order dated 16th December, 2019 passed by the Adjudicating Authority (National Company Law Tribunal), Mumbai Bench-II in CP(IB) 1598/MB/C-II/2019. The appeal was filed by Sumeet Maheshwari, a shareholder of the 1st Respondent/Company, being dissatisfied with the order dated 16.12.2019. The Adjudicating Authority had admitted a Section 7 application filed by the 2nd Respondent/Bank. The appellant contended that the application was barred by limitation as the NPA was declared on 31.03.2004 and the application was filed in 2019.

## Facts

Sumeet Maheshwari, the Appellant, is a shareholder of Navbharat Press (Bhopal) Private Limited, the 1st Respondent/Corporate Debtor. The 2nd Respondent, Bank of Maharashtra, had sanctioned financial credit to the 1st Respondent. The 1st Respondent defaulted on repayment, leading the 2nd Respondent to declare the loan account as a Non-Performing Asset (NPA) on 31.03.2004. A recall notice was issued on 11.07.2007. The 2nd Respondent filed an application under Section 7 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) on 16.03.2019, seeking initiation of Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP). The Adjudicating Authority admitted the application. The Appellant contends that the application is barred by limitation, citing that the NPA was declared more than three years

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## Issues and analysis

### Issue 1: Whether the Section 7 application filed by the 2nd Respondent/Bank is barred by limitation under …

**Ratio:** The ratio decidendi is that an application under Section 7 of the IBC must be filed

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**Reasoning:** The Tribunal reasoned that the NPA was declared on 31.03.2004, and the Section 7

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**Interpretation:** The interpretation of Section 7 of the IBC, read with the Limitation Act, is

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**Application:** Applying the ratio to the facts, the Tribunal found that the Section 7

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## Parties

- **Judges:** Venugop…; V. P. S…; +1 more
- **Appellants:** Sumeet Mahe…
- **Respondents:** Navbharat Press…

## Timeline

- **2004-03-31 — NPA Decla…**: The loan account of the 1st Respondent/Company was declared as a Non-Performing Asset…
- **2007-07-11 — Recall N…**: The 2nd Respondent/Bank issued a recall notice to the 1st Respondent/Company demanding…

## Legal provisions

- [Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, Section 7 — Initiation of corporate insolvency resolution…](https://caseease.in/legal-provisions/insolvency-and-bankruptcy-code-2016/section-7)

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