CIRP MUST BE COMPLETED WITHIN 330 DAYS AS PRESCRIBED BY THE CODE - SC

The Supreme Court ruled that under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) must be completed within the 330-day as prescribed under the law. Under Section 12(3) of the code, the outer limit of CIRP is 330 days and can be only extended in exceptional cases. Therefore, the National Company Law Tribunal and the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) should respect the deadline. 
The Top Court ruled the above while hearing an appeal from an NCLAT judgment of July 2020. The NCLAT held that an application from the resolution plan could not be approved since:
a. Barred by res judicata;
b. and NCLT does not have the authority to allow such a withdrawal.
The decision was challenged before the Top Court.
The SC held that the u/s 31(2) of the code, the adjudicating authority does not have the authority to approve, reject or modify a plan by a successful Resolution Applicant. "We hold that the existing insolvency laws in India provide no field for further modifications or withdrawals of CoC-approved Resolution Plans, at the behest of the successful Resolution Applicant, once the plan has been submitted. An applicant, after obtaining information about the corporate debtor, analyses the risk and submits a considered proposal. A submitted RP is irrevocable and binding in terms of the provisions of the code and the CIRP regulations'.