Statutory Appeal cannot be entertained without certified copy of impugned judgment: Supreme Court

The Central Bank of India filed a civil appeal before the Supreme Court of India against an order passed by the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal. Although the appeal was filed with a delay of one day, no application for condonation of delay was submitted at the time of filing.

Further, while an application seeking exemption from filing a certified copy of the impugned judgment was filed, it failed to clarify whether such a certified copy had even been applied for. There was a 102-day delay in re-filing the appeal after curing the defects.

Issue Before Court: Whether a statutory appeal can be entertained without filing a certified copy of the impugned judgment and without proper condonation of delay

SC’s Decision: The Supreme Court declined to proceed with the matter at this stage and directed the appellant to cure all procedural defects. It emphasised that statutory appeals cannot be entertained without a certified copy of the impugned judgment in terms of Order XIX Rule 40 of the Supreme Court Rules, 2013.

The Court also flagged the absence of a proper delay condonation application and directed the Registry to be vigilant in scrutinizing such defects. The matter was ordered to be re-listed after procedural compliance.

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