NCLT Can Allow Date Of Default To Be Amended In CIRP Proceedings: NCLAT

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal bench of Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain, Mr. Naresh Salecha and Mr. Indevar Pandey has held that the NCLT is empowered to allow the parties to amend the pleadings before the final orders in Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process proceedings are passed. The initial default date of 31.10.2020 falls within the moratorium period under Section 10A, rendering the CIRP application invalid. The date of default cited by the respondent arose post-17.03.2020, during the moratorium period, and therefore should be exempt from CIRP initiation as per Section 10A. Respondent's Submissions The default date was subsequently amended to 02.08.2019, predating the Section 10A period. On the issue regarding whether the NCLT can allow amendments to the date of default in applications filed under section 7 of the IBC, the court referred to the judgment of the Supreme Court in Dena Bank v. C. Shivakumar Reddy, which held that: "There is no bar in law to the amendment of pleadings in an application under Section 7 of the IBC or to the filing of additional documents apart from those initially filed along with the application in Form-1" It was also observed that the Adjudicating Authority might, at its discretion, decline requests to file additional pleadings/documents in cases of inordinate delay but is not barred from allowing amendments to meet the ends of justice.