In Brief
A managing director of an insolvent company challenged the NCLT's admission of a bank's insolvency petition filed under Section 7 of the IBC. The bank held three recovery certificates from a debt tribunal issued in 2015 and 2017, totaling over Rs. 613 crores in default. The appellant argued the petition was time-barred and violated the doctrine of election. The Court held that a recovery certificate is a deemed decree with a twelve-year enforcement life; CIRP can be initiated within three years from its issuance. The doctrine of election applies only after recovery certification; using CIRP after DRT proceedings is permissible. An acknowledgment letter sent after CIRP filing cannot cure limitation defects without pleading amendment. The Court partly upheld the NCLT's decision, directing segregation of the 2015 certificate's claim into the public announcement process.
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