Authority: National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) Chennai Single Bench (Court-7)

Order Date: 10 July 2026

Case Overview

This appeal was filed by Punjab National Bank (Appellant) under Rule 63 of the NCLT Rules, 2016. It challenged an order dated 07 May 2026, issued by the NCLT Registry, which declined to register the Bank's petition filed under Section 95(1) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), 2016. The petition was e-filed under Diary No. 3305118014822026 on 18 April 2026.

The Registry had issued multiple defect notes on 21 April 2026, 29 April 2026, and finally the rejection order on 07 May 2026. The principal grounds for refusal to register were procedural defects. The specific defects pointed out by the Registry were:

  • The verifying affidavit and vakalath (power of attorney) had not been duly sworn before another advocate nor notarized.
  • The vakalath was not signed by the Counsel and was also not stamped properly.
  • Proof of service of the demand notice was missing (Page 50).
  • A potential limitation issue was raised, noting that the date of default occurred during 2015-2016. The Registry observed that the limitation period for filing an application under Section 95 is three years from the date of default.

The Appellant's counsel argued that technical glitches on the e-filing portal prevented them from accessing the initial defect sheet dated 21 April 2026, as every attempt to open it resulted in a blank page. Consequently, the Appellant was unable to view and cure the defects in a timely manner. A defect sheet dated 29 April 2026 was eventually noticed on 30 April 2026, but due to an inadvertent oversight, the Appellant misunderstood the procedural requirements. The Appellant undertook to rectify all the defects within one week.

The Hon'ble Member (Judicial), Shri Sanjiv Jain, considered these submissions.

Final Outcome

The appeal was allowed. The NCLT bench granted the Appellant, Punjab National Bank, one week's time from the order date (10 July 2026) to rectify all the defects identified by the Registry in its original petition.

Topics: Insolvency Proceedings, Legal Procedure