Section 423: Appeal to Supreme

Companies Act • Official Statutory Text & Practice Guide

Statutory Regulation
Legal Standard
Competent Court / Tribunal
Act 2013

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 423

Section 423 provides a direct statutory appeal to the Supreme Court from any order of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal on questions of law, subject to strict jurisdictional limitation periods.

  • Strict Question of Law Gateway: Restricts appellate intervention to substantial questions of law arising out of the NCLAT order, barring the re-appreciation of purely factual or commercial determinations.
  • Statutory Sixty-Day Filing Period: Mandates that the statutory appeal must be lodged within sixty days from the date of receipt of the order of the Appellate Tribunal.
  • Condonation Window and Absolute Outer Limit: Limits condonation of delay under the proviso to a maximum of sixty days upon proof of sufficient cause, creating an absolute 120-day jurisdictional bar beyond which no appeal can be entertained.
Key Landmark Precedents:
  • Bengal Chemists and Druggists Association v. Kalyan Chowdhury, (2018) 3 SCC 41: Held that Section 423 prescribes a complete code of limitation; the outer limit of sixty days plus sixty days cannot be extended under Section 5 of the Limitation Act, 1963.
  • Kalpraj Dharamshi v. Kotak Investment Advisors Ltd., (2021) 10 SCC 401: Affirmed that the Supreme Court under Section 423 will not substitute its commercial judgment for the commercial wisdom of the Committee of Creditors or disturb concurrent factual findings unless infected by perversity.
  • Chhattisgarh State Electricity Board v. Central Electricity Regulatory Commission, (2010) 5 SCC 23: Laid down the binding rule on special limitation provisions that the words 'not exceeding sixty days' in appeal provisions prohibit condonation beyond the prescribed outer limit.
Courtroom Practice & Strategic Litigation Guidance:

When filing an appeal under Section 423, frame precise questions of law in the synopsis; calculate limitation strictly from the date certified copies were communicated; and avoid seeking Section 5 condonation if the 120-day statutory ceiling has lapsed, as the Supreme Court lacks jurisdiction to condone further delay.