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TMI Blog2024 (3) TMI 566X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... o-by by the Adjudicating Authority or this Tribunal in the discharge of their adjudicatory and appellate responsibilities. Opportunity to hear is a critical limb of this principle of natural justice. The Tribunal must appraise the party of the case he has to meet so as to enable him to make his representation. This opportunity must be real and effective. The right to make representation requires that the person/entity proceeded against must have opportunity to peruse all material relied upon against him - So also in the present matter, to meet the ends of justice, it was the duty of the Adjudicating Authority to have ensured that the balance sheets produced by the CA was shared with the Appellant party since these documents were to constitute the basis on which the impugned order was premised. Thus, justice should not only be done but should manifestly be seen to be done. In the absence of notice and such reasonable opportunity having been given to the Appellant, the impugned order passed has become vitiated. To meet the ends of justice, the Appellant deserves to be given appropriate and adequate opportunity to represent itself in respect of the financial statements which were plac ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... showed the date of default as 31.05.2014 as may be seen at page 606 of the Appeal Paper Book ( APB in short). It was emphatically asserted that since the date of default was 31.05.2014 as per declaration made by the Financial Creditor in Part IV, the default had become barred by limitation since it was more than three years if counted from the date of default. It was vehemently denied that any written or signed acknowledgement of the outstanding debt was given by the Corporate Debtor to the Financial Creditor any time after 2015 and hence the debt had become time-barred. However, by way of filing a supplementary affidavit before the Adjudicating Authority, the Financial Creditor placed on record certain unsigned balance sheets of the Corporate Debtor to overcome the impediment of time barred debt. It was strenuously contended that these unsigned financials were also wrongly relied upon by the Adjudicating Authority to hold that outstanding debt stood acknowledged therein and hence the debt was not time-barred. 4. Making rival contentions, the Learned Counsel for the Respondent No.2 submitted that it is an undisputed fact that it had sanctioned credit facilities to the Corporate De ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ial statements of the Corporate Debtor for the year 2021-22 brings the outstanding dues within limitation. 6. We have duly considered the arguments advanced by the Learned Counsel for the Appellant and perused the records carefully. 7. It is the contention of the Appellant that the financial documents of the Corporate Debtor which were placed on record by the Respondent No.2 were unsigned and therefore could not have been relied upon by the Adjudicating Authority to give fresh lease of life to time barred debts. Submission was also pressed that the Hon ble Supreme Court in Asset Reconstruction Company (India) Ltd. Vs. Bishal Jaiswal Ors. (2021) 6 SCC 366 has held that for any entry made in the balance sheet to be considered as an admission of liability, the same should have been filed by appropriate authorities of the Corporate Debtor and should bear the signature of authorised signatories so that their intent for admission of entries thereof is established. 8. Advancing their arguments further, it was submitted that since the signature of authorised signatories on the financials was amiss in the present case, this was brought to the notice of the Adjudicating Authority and urged t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... for the applicant are unsigned, we vide an Order dated November 22, 2023, directed Mr. Gouranga Paul, of J.B.S. Company, Chartered Accountants who is supposed to have signed the financials of the Corporate Debtor as on 31.03.2022 to be present personally before this Bench to after clarification. 35. Mr. Gouranga Paul, Chartered Accountant appeared before us on 11/12/2023 and confirmed that the Financial Statements have been signed and the Company has filed its annual returns in the MCA for the said financial year. Further the Chartered Accountant undertook to file signed copies of Financial Statements for the years 2020-21 and 2021-2022 and accordingly the same was filed on 12.12.2022 with the Registry of this Adjudicating Authority. 36. We have perused the signed financial statements of the company filed by the Chartered Accountant for the years 2020 21 and 2021 2022. While in the Balance Sheets, the borrowing from Secured and Unsecured creditors have been mentioned and all the amounts due to several Financial Creditors have been clubbed together, the notes to Accounts which are the Part of financial statements for the year March 31, 2022, disclosed the debt owed to the Financial ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... of natural justice is the prevention of miscarriage of justice. This inter-alia entails providing for a fair hearing as evinced in the audi alteram partem rule and its corollary, namely, qui aliquid statuerit parte inaudita altera aequum licet dixerit haud acquum facerit that is, he who decides anything without the other side having been heard, though he may decide rightly, by no means has acted justly. In other words, as is commonly expressed, justice should not only be done but should manifestly be seen to be done. In the absence of notice and such reasonable opportunity having been given to the Appellant, the impugned order passed has become vitiated. To meet the ends of justice we are of the considered opinion that the Appellant deserves to be given appropriate and adequate opportunity to represent itself in respect of the financial statements which were placed by the CA before the Adjudicating Authority. 15. In such circumstances, the present appeal is hereby allowed. The impugned order is set aside. The orders passed by the Adjudicating Authority initiating CIRP against the Corporate Debtor and appointing Interim Resolution Professional and all other orders pursuant to the i ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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