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Supreme Court of India

VIDYASAGAR PRASADversusUCO BANK & ANR.

Citation
2024 INSC 810
Decided
22 October 2024
Disposal
Dismissed

Holding

A balance‑sheet entry coupled with the auditor’s note and an OTS proposal constitutes a clear acknowledgment of debt, thereby invoking Section 18 of the Limitation Act and validating the admission of the Section 7 application.

Summary

The appellant, a suspended director of the corporate debtor, challenged the admission of a Section 7 application initiating a Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) by UCO Bank, arguing that the debtor's balance‑sheet entries did not constitute a clear, specific acknowledgment of debt required under Section 18 of the Limitation Act, 1963. The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) held that the balance‑sheet note, the auditor’s report, and a One‑Time Settlement (OTS) letter together amounted to an unequivocal acknowledgment of liability, thereby resetting the limitation period. The Supreme Court examined the statutory scheme of the IBC, Section 238A, and the applicability of Section 18, relying on precedents such as Asset Reconstruction Company (India) Ltd. v. Bishal Jaiswal and Dena Bank v. C. Shivakumar Reddy. It affirmed that a balance‑sheet prepared under the Companies Act need not name each creditor, and that an implicit acknowledgment of a subsisting liability suffices to invoke Section 18. Consequently, the Court found no merit in the appeal and dismissed it, upholding the earlier orders admitting the CIRP.

Issues considered

  • Whether a balance‑sheet entry, without expressly naming the creditor, can be deemed a specific acknowledgment of debt under Section 18 of the Limitation Act, 1963 for the purpose of extending the limitation period in a Section 7 IBC application.
  • Whether the One‑Time Settlement proposal constitutes an acknowledgment of liability sufficient to attract Section 18.
  • Whether the provisions of the Limitation Act, particularly Section 18, apply to proceedings under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code via Section 238A.

Legislation cited

Headnote

Issue for Consideration Whether specific and clear acknowledgement of debt by the Corporate Debtor in its balance sheet is necessary while considering limitation under Section 18 of the Limitation Act, 1963. Headnotes† Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 – s.238A – s.18 of acknowledge of debt in the balance sheet entries necessary while computing limitation u/s.18 Limitation Act r/w s.238A of the IBC: Held: It was contended by the Appellant that there is no unequivocal, unambiguous and specific acknowledgement of debt owed to Respondent – Financial Creditor

Subjects

Acknowledgement of debtLimitationCIRPAdmission of CIRPBalance‑SheetEntries in Balance Sheet

Judgment

                [2024] 10 S.C.R. 1462 : 2024 INSC 810

                            Vidyasagar Prasad
                                    v.
                             UCO Bank & Anr.
                       (Civil Appeal No. 1031 of 2022)
                               22 October 2024
 [Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha* and Sandeep Mehta, JJ.]

                           Issue for Consideration
       Whether specific and clear acknowledgement of debt by the
       Corporate Debtor in its balance sheet is necessary while considering
       limitation under Section 18 of the Limitation Act, 1963.

                                  Headnotes†
       Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 – s.238A – s.18 of
       Limitation Act – No specific and clear acknowledge of debt in
       the balance sheet entries necessary while computing limitation
       u/s.18 Limitation Act r/w s.238A of the IBC:
       Held: It was contended by the Appellant that there is no
       unequivocal, unambiguous and specific acknowledgement of debt
       owed to Respondent – Financial Creditor in the balance sheet
       entries of Corporate Debtor for the years 2017 and 2019 – The
       CIRP was admitted by the NCLT on the ground that there is
       acknowledgement of debt in the balance sheet entries as well
       as Auditors Report for the year ending 31.01.2017 – The order
       of admission of CIRP affirmed by the NCLAT – The Appellant
       contended that the name of Financial Creditor in question is not
       specifically mentioned in the relied upon entry in the balance
       sheet – It was contended that in the absence of clear demarcation
       as to what the Corporate Debtor owes to the Financial Creditor
       in question, the balance sheet entries cannot be relied on for the
       purpose of extending the period of limitation in terms of Section
       18 of the Limitation Act – By relying on Asset Reconstruction
       Company (India) Ltd. v. Bishal Jaiswal [2021] 3 SCR 524, the Civil
       Appeal filed by the Appellant was dismissed – The contention of
       the Financial Creditor that there was no compulsion for Companies
       to make any particular admissions in the balance sheet was
       accepted by the Court – The entry made in the balance sheet

* Author
[2024] 10 S.C.R.                                                                                1463

                       Vidyasagar Prasad v. UCO Bank & Anr.


      coupled with the note of the auditor of the Appellant clearly
      amounts to acknowledgement of the liability – The Court noted
      that the Corporate Debtor’s proposal of One Time Settlement
      (OTS) also fortifies the case against the Appellant – The Civil
      Appeal dismissed accordingly. [Paras 8-13]

                                           List of Acts
      Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016; Limitation Act, 1963

                                       List of Keywords
      Acknowledgement of debt; Limitation; CIRP; Admission of CIRP;
      Balance-Sheet; Entries in Balance Sheet.

                                     Case Arising From
      CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal No. 1031 of 2022
      From the Judgment and Order dated 04.10.2021 of the National
      Company Law Appellate Tribunal, New Delhi in Company
      Appeal (AT) (Insolvency) No. 238 of 2020

                                 Appearances for Parties
      Balbir Singh, Sr. Adv., Sandeep Bajaj, Soayib Qureshi, Devansh
      Jain, Naman Tandon, Ms. Vasudha Chadha, Advs. for the Appellant.
      Partha Sil, Tavish Bhushan Prasad, Ms. Sayani Bhattacharya,
      Abhiraj Chaudhary, Srijit Datta, Gopal Prasad, Ms. Shalya Agarwal,
      Dhananjaya Sud, Advs. for the Respondents.

                     Judgment / Order of the Supreme Court

                                           Judgment
      Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha, J.
1.    By the present appeal, the suspended director of the Corporate
      Debtor assails the order of the NCLAT1 affirming the order of the
      Adjudicating Authority2 admitting the application under Section 7



1    National Company Law Appellate Tribunal in Company Appeal (AT) (Insolvency) No. 238 of 2020, dated
     04.10.2021.
2    Adjudicating Authority/National Company Law Tribunal, Kolkata Bench, Kolkata order dated 13.12.2019
     in CP No. 254/KB/2019.
1464                                                                               [2024] 10 S.C.R.

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      of IBC3 for initiating CIRP4 proceedings against the Corporate
      Debtor.
2.    The undisputed facts before us are that the Corporate Debtor
      (respondent No. 2 herein), now represented by its Insolvency
      Resolution Professional (IRP), availed loan and credit facilities from
      UCO Bank (respondent No. 1 herein) and other consortium of banks
      under agreements dated 21.06.2010, 30.08.2012, 19.07.2012 and
      31.12.2012. The said loan and other credit facilities were availed for
      funding of Corporate Debtor’s Thermal Power Plant.
      2.1 Having defaulted on repayment of principal as well as interest
          levied thereupon, Corporate Debtor’s account was declared
          as Non-Performing Asset (NPA) on 05.11.2014. Further,
          proceedings under SARFAESI5 Act and DRT6 for recovery of
          dues were also initiated. However, we are not concerned with
          these proceedings for disposal of the present appeal.
3.    The root of the present controversy arose on 13.02.2019 when UCO
      Bank filed an application under Section 7 of the Code to initiate CIRP
      proceeding against the Corporate Debtor before the Adjudicating
      Authority (NCLT, Kolkata Bench). These proceedings were resisted
      by the Corporate Debtor, primarily on the grounds of limitation.
      Additionally, the Section 7 application was also challenged on the
      grounds that it was not signed by a competent person and also that
      there is no liability to pay as per the terms of the agreement and as
      such there is no debt.
4.    On the issue of competency of the Bank to file the petition under
      Section 7, the Adjudicating Authority held that the General Manager
      of Bank was legally authorized as attorney to do all acts and also act
      on behalf of the Bank and he had the authority to sign the application.
      On the issue relating to the existence of debt, the Adjudicating
      Authority, examined the contract, the terms and conditions of sanction
      letter as well as the relevant credit agreements in detail and came
      to the conclusion that the amount was disbursed as a loan and the
      Corporate Debtor had in-fact defaulted in repayment of principal as


3    Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016.
4    Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process.
5    Securitization and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest.
6    Debts Recovery Tribunal.
[2024] 10 S.C.R.                                                           1465

                 Vidyasagar Prasad v. UCO Bank & Anr.


     well as interest levied thereupon. Thus, the contention that there
     was no debt was also rejected.
     4.1 The main objection to the initiation of CIRP proceedings on the
         ground of limitation was rejected by the Adjudicating Authority
         on the ground that there is an acknowledgement of debt in
         the financial statements as well as auditor’s report of the
         Corporate Debtor for the year ending on 31.03.2017. On the
         basis of Section 238A of the Code, incorporating the Limitation
         Act, the Adjudicating Authority relied on Section 18 of the
         Limitation Act to reckon the period of limitation from the date of
         acknowledgement of the debt and concluded that the institution
         of CIRP on 13.02.2019 is within the period of limitation. The
         further contention of the Corporate Debtor that name of UCO
         Bank, the financial creditor, is not specifically mentioned in the
         relied upon entry in the balance sheet was rejected by NCLT
         by referring to the Explanation to Section 7(1) of the Code
         providing that the proceedings thereunder get triggered even
         in the case of a default by debtor in respect of any financial
         creditor other than the applicant.
5.   Aggrieved by the admission of Section 7 application, initiation of
     CIRP and appointment of IRP, the appellant preferred an appeal to
     the NCLAT, Principal Bench. The same arguments were advanced
     before the NCLAT and having considered the same in detail, the
     NCLAT dismissed the appeal with the following reasoning:
          “11.5 Therefore, in the instant case, the balance sheet that
          has been brought on record in the instant case before the
          Adjudicating Authority shall be taken into consideration
          while deciding the question of limitation and default on the
          part of the Corporate Debtor. The said documents cannot
          be ignored simply on the premise that it is not pleaded in
          the Application filed in Form-1 for initiation of the Corporate
          Insolvency Process.
          11.6 We find that the balance sheet for the financial year
          ending on March 31 2017, was part of the record before
          the learned Adjudicating Authority and was annexed with
          Section 7 Application, which was also duly admitted by the
          Appellant during the hearing. Subsequently, the balance
          sheet for the financial year ending will March 31 2019,
1466                                                     [2024] 10 S.C.R.

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        was annexed with the reply filed by Respondent No. 1
        before this Hon’ble Tribunal on March 02, 2020. However,
        as the practice and procedure of this Hon’ble Tribunal,
        the same was not accepted at the filing counter without
        the specific mention of this Hon’ble Tribunal. Accordingly,
        a copy of the Application for the additional document is
        also annexed as Annexure A. Subsequently; this Hon’ble
        Tribunal permitted such additional documents to be taken
        on record vide its Order dated July 15 2020.
        11.7 The Company’s balance sheet is prepared in the
        statutory format as per Schedule 3rd of the Companies
        Act 2013, which does not provide for giving the specific
        name of every secured or unsecured creditor.
        11.8 It is further observed that the Corporate Debtor has
        not denied that there are no outstanding dues to the UCO
        Bank. A perusal of extract of register of charges submitted
        with ROC, at Sr. No. 3, shows that a charge of rupees one
        hundred and seventy-five crores created by the Corporate
        Debtor has not been satisfied and remains outstanding.
        11.9 After the judgement of Hon’ble Supreme Court in
        case Asset Reconstruction Company (India) Limited v.
        Bishal Jaiswal (supra), it is settled that entries in books
        of accounts and/or balance sheets of a Corporate Debtor
        would amount to an acknowledgement under Section 18.
        11.10 In the instant case, we also find that the Corporate
        Debtor issued a letter dated June 07 2016 (Annexure A
        Page 11 of their reply affidavit of R-1) wherein it has given
        OTS proposal. Based on the ratio of the judgement of
        Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of Lakshmirattan Cotton
        Mills Co Ltd and further reiterated in Dena Bank’s case
        (supra) that there is an acknowledgement of subsisting
        liability of the Corporate Debtor. However, it may not
        necessarily specify the exact nature of the liability. But
        it indicates the jural relation between the parties, and in
        any event, the same can also be derived by implication.
        Further, the said Letter is not “without prejudice” basis and,
        therefore, amounts to an unequivocal acknowledgement
        of liability of the Corporate Debtor. A reading of the
[2024] 10 S.C.R.                                                               1467

                         Vidyasagar Prasad v. UCO Bank & Anr.


             documents above reveals that the Corporate Debtor has
             acknowledged/subsisting liability to attract the provisions
             of Section 18 of the Limitation Act, 1963.
             11.11 Based on the discussion as above, we think that the
             present Appeal is liable to be dismissed, and the interim
             Order dated April 07, 2020, is exposed to vacated.”
6.    Mr. Balbir Singh, senior counsel appearing on behalf of the appellant
      has emphatically argued only one point before us. It is that there
      is no clear and unequivocal acknowledgement of debt of the
      Corporate Debtor in the entries of the balance sheets. If this is true,
      it is submitted, then the financial creditor cannot have the benefit
      of Section 18 of the Limitation Act to extend the period of limitation
      which commenced on 05.11.2014.
7.    The commencement of a fresh period of limitation from the time of
      acknowledgement of the debt is part of the statutory scheme. Section
      238A of the Code extends the applicability of the provisions of the
      Limitation Act to the proceedings under the Code. With the extension
      of Limitation Act to the provisions of the Code, the benefit of Section
      18 of the Limitation Act dealing with the effect of acknowledgement
      of a debt in writing applies. Considering the same issue in Laxmi
      Pat Surana v. Union Bank of India7, the Court observed:
             “42. Notably, the provisions of the Limitation Act have been
             made applicable to the proceedings under the Code, as far
             as may be applicable. For, Section 238-A predicates that
             the provisions of the Limitation Act shall, as far as may be,
             apply to the proceedings or appeals before the adjudicating
             authority, NCLAT, the DRT or the Debt Recovery Appellate
             Tribunal, as the case may be. After enactment of Section
             238-A IBC on 6-6-2018, validity whereof has been upheld
             by this Court, it is not open to contend that the limitation for
             filing application under Section 7 IBC would be limited to
             Article 137 of the Limitation Act and extension of prescribed
             period in certain cases could be only under Section 5 of
             the Limitation Act. There is no reason to exclude the effect
             of Section 18 of the Limitation Act to the proceedings
             initiated under the Code.


7    (2021) 8 SCC 481.
1468                                                       [2024] 10 S.C.R.

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        43. Ordinarily, upon declaration of the loan account/
        debt as NPA that date can be reckoned as the date of
        default to enable the financial creditor to initiate action
        under Section 7 IBC. However, Section 7 comes into play
        when the corporate debtor commits “default”. Section 7,
        consciously uses the expression “default” — not the date
        of notifying the loan account of the corporate person as
        NPA. Further, the expression “default” has been defined
        in Section 3(12) to mean non-payment of “debt” when
        whole or any part or instalment of the amount of debt has
        become due and payable and is not paid by the debtor or
        the corporate debtor, as the case may be. In cases where
        the corporate person had offered guarantee in respect
        of loan transaction, the right of the financial creditor to
        initiate action against such entity being a corporate debtor
        (corporate guarantor), would get triggered the moment the
        principal borrower commits default due to non-payment
        of debt. Thus, when the principal borrower and/or the
        (corporate) guarantor admit and acknowledge their liability
        after declaration of NPA but before the expiration of three
        years therefrom including the fresh period of limitation
        due to (successive) acknowledgments, it is not possible
        to extricate them from the renewed limitation accruing
        due to the effect of Section 18 of the Limitation Act.
        Section 18 of the Limitation Act gets attracted the moment
        acknowledgment in writing signed by the party against
        whom such right to initiate resolution process under Section
        7 IBC enures. Section 18 of the Limitation Act would come
        into play every time when the principal borrower and/or
        the corporate guarantor (corporate debtor), as the case
        may be, acknowledge their liability to pay the debt. Such
        acknowledgment, however, must be before the expiration
        of the prescribed period of limitation including the fresh
        period of limitation due to acknowledgment of the debt,
        from time to time, for institution of the proceedings under
        Section 7 IBC. Further, the acknowledgment must be of a
        liability in respect of which the financial creditor can initiate
        action under Section 7 IBC.”
                                                 (emphasis supplied)
[2024] 10 S.C.R.                                                              1469

                     Vidyasagar Prasad v. UCO Bank & Anr.


     7.1 In Dena Bank v. C. Shivakumar Reddy8 after reviewing the case
         law on the subject, this Court held;
            “138. While it is true that default in payment of a debt
            triggers the right to initiate the corporate resolution process,
            and a petition under Section 7 or 9 IBC is required to be
            filed within the period of limitation prescribed by law, which
            in this case would be three years from the date of default
            by virtue of Section 238-A IBC read with Article 137 of the
            Schedule to the Limitation Act, the delay in filing a petition
            in the NCLT is condonable under Section 5 of the Limitation
            Act unlike delay in filing a suit. Furthermore, as observed
            above Sections 14 and 18 of the Limitation Act are also
            applicable to proceedings under the IBC.
            …………
            140. To sum up, in our considered opinion an application
            under Section 7 IBC would not be barred by limitation,
            on the ground that it had been filed beyond a period
            of three years from the date of declaration of the loan
            account of the corporate debtor as NPA, if there were
            an acknowledgment of the debt by the corporate debtor
            before expiry of the period of limitation of three years, in
            which case the period of limitation would get extended by
            a further period of three years.”
                                                     (emphasis supplied)
     7.2 A reference must also be made to a three Judge Bench decision
         in Rajendra Narottamdas Sheth v. Chandra Prakash Jain9 which
         succinctly observed;
            “27. It is no more res integra that Section 18 of the Limitation
            Act is applicable to applications filed under Section 7 of
            the Code. In case the application under Section 7 is filed
            beyond the period of three years from the date of default
            and the financial creditor furnishes the required information
            relating to the acknowledgment of debt, in writing by the



8   [2021] 8 SCR 1061 : (2021) 10 SCC 330
9   [2021] 7 SCR 838 : (2022) 5 SCC 600
1470                                                        [2024] 10 S.C.R.

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              corporate debtor, before the adjudicating authority, with
              such acknowledgment having taken place within the initial
              period of three years from the date of default, a fresh
              period of limitation commences and the application can
              be entertained, if filed within this extended period.”
                                                    (emphasis supplied)
8.    In view of the above referred principles, we will now consider the
      nuanced arguments advanced by Mr. Balbir Singh that there is no
      unequivocal, unambiguous and specific acknowledgement of debt
      owed to UCO Bank in the balance sheet entries of Corporate Debtor
      for the years 2017 and 2019. In the absence of clear demarcation as
      to what the Corporate Debtor owes to the UCO Bank, the said entries
      cannot be relied on for the purpose of extending the period of limitation
      in terms of Section 18 of the Limitation Act. Mr. Balbir Singh further
      argues that even if said entry is taken to be an acknowledgment of
      debt, the same cannot aid respondent No.1’s case since it fails to
      mention the name of financial creditor.
      8.1 Mr. Partha Sil, counsel on behalf of respondent No. 1-Bank
          submitted that the Balance Sheets of a company are prepared
          in the prescribed statutory format as per Section 129, read
          with Schedule III of the Companies Act 2013, which does not
          provide for giving specific names of each and every Secured
          and Unsecured creditor. In support of his submission, Mr. Partha
          Sil referred to the judgment in Asset Reconstruction Company
          (India) Ltd. v. Bishal Jaiswal10 where it was observed that there
          was no compulsion for Companies to make any particular
          admissions in the balance sheet, except for what is prescribed.
9.    A three Judge Bench of this Court in Bishal Jaiswal (Supra) has
      addressed and clarified this issue by holding that;
              “35. A perusal of the aforesaid sections would show that
              there is no doubt that the filing of a balance sheet in
              accordance with the provisions of the Companies Act is
              mandatory, any transgression of the same being punishable
              by law. However, what is of importance is that notes that
              are annexed to or forming part of such financial statements


10   [2021] 3 SCR 524 : (2021) 6 SCC 366.
[2024] 10 S.C.R.                                                        1471

                 Vidyasagar Prasad v. UCO Bank & Anr.


          are expressly recognised by Section 134(7). Equally, the
          auditor’s report may also enter caveats with regard to
          acknowledgments made in the books of accounts including
          the balance sheet. A perusal of the aforesaid would show
          that the statement of law contained in Bengal Silk Mills Co.
          v. Ismail Golam Hossain Ariff, that there is a compulsion
          in law to prepare a balance sheet but no compulsion to
          make any particular admission, is correct in law as it
          would depend on the facts of each case as to whether an
          entry made in a balance sheet qua any particular creditor
          is unequivocal or has been entered into with caveats,
          which then has to be examined on a case by case basis
          to establish whether an acknowledgment of liability has,
          in fact, been made, thereby extending limitation under
          Section 18 of the Limitation Act.”
                                                  (emphasis supplied)
10. Having considered the specific facts and circumstances of this case,
    the Adjudicating Authority as well as the NCLAT have concurrently held
    that the entries in the balance sheets amount to clear acknowledgment
    of debt. We agree with the findings. Further, Note 3.4 appended to
    said balance sheet entry dated 31.03.2017 mentions that “company
    has made certain defaults in the repayment of term loans and interest.”
    It further mentions of a continuing default. The entry also mentions
    long-term borrowings. The conclusions of NCLT and NCLAT that
    there is acknowledgment of debt are unimpeachable.
     10.1 Following the principles as expounded in the case of Bishal
          Jaiswal (Supra), the Adjudicating Authority as well as the
          NCLAT have examined the case in detail and have come to the
          conclusion that the entry made in the balance sheet coupled
          with the note of the auditor of the appellant clearly amounts to
          acknowledgement of the liability. We see no reason whatsoever
          to take a different view of the matter. Their findings are fortified
          when we examine the matter from another perspective.
11. Adjudicating Authority and NCLAT have also considered the Corporate
    Debtor’s proposal of One Time Settlement (OTS) to UCO Bank. The
    proposal made by letter dated 07.06.2016 acknowledges that there
    were prior debts owed to UCO Bank. To substantiate the argument
    that such OTS constituted acknowledgment of debt since it relates
1472                                                         [2024] 10 S.C.R.

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      to present and subsisting liability and indicates existence of a jural
      relationship between the parties, UCO Bank relied on judgment of
      this Court in Lakshmirattan Cotton Mills Co. Ltd. and Messrs Behari
      Lal Ram Charan v. Aluminium Corporation of India Limited11. The
      implication of a statement about a present and subsisting debt of a
      Corporate Debtor is articulated by this Court in the following manner;
             “9. It is clear that the statement on which the plea of
             acknowledgment is founded must relate to a subsisting
             liability as the section requires that it must be made before
             the expiration of the period prescribed under the Act. It
             need not, however, amount to a promise to pay, for, an
             acknowledgment does not create a new right of action but
             merely extends the period of limitation. The statement need
             not indicate the exact nature or the specific character of
             the liability. The words used in the statement in question,
             however, must relate to a present subsisting liability and
             indicate the existence of jural relationship between the
             parties, such as, for instance, that of a debtor and a
             creditor and the intention to admit such jural relationship.
             Such an intention need not be in express terms and can
             be inferred by implication from the nature of the admission
             and the surrounding circumstances. Generally speaking,
             a liberal construction of the statement in question should
             be given. That of course does not mean that where a
             statement is made without intending to admit the existence
             of jural relationship, such intention should be fastened on
             the person making the statement by an involved and far-
             fetched reasoning…”
                                                    (emphasis supplied)
      11.1 It is also relevant to refer to judgment in Dena Bank (Supra)
           which held as follows:
             “139. Section 18 of the Limitation Act cannot also be
             construed with pedantic rigidity in relation to proceedings
             under the IBC. This Court sees no reason why an offer
             of one-time settlement of a live claim, made within the


11   (1971) 1 SCC 67
[2024] 10 S.C.R.                                                          1473

                 Vidyasagar Prasad v. UCO Bank & Anr.


          period of limitation, should not also be construed as an
          acknowledgment to attract Section 18 of the Limitation
          Act…”
                                                 (emphasis supplied)
12. Both these factors, acknowledgment of debt in the balance sheet as
    well as in the OTS proposal, have been considered by NCLAT while
    dismissing the appeal. The relevant portion of the NCLAT findings,
    after considering balance sheet entries and OTS letter are as follows:
          “11.7 The Company’s balance sheet is prepared in the
          statutory format as per Schedule 3rd of the Companies
          Act 2013, which does not provide for giving the specific
          name of every secured or unsecured creditor.
          11.8 It is further observed that the Corporate Debtor has
          not denied that there are no outstanding dues to the UCO
          Bank. A perusal of extract of register of charges submitted
          with ROC, at Sr. No. 3, shows that a charge of rupees one
          hundred and seventy-five crores created by the Corporate
          Debtor has not been satisfied and remains outstanding.
          11.10 In the instant case, we also find that the Corporate
          Debtor issued a letter dated June 07 2016 (Annexure A
          Page 11 of their reply affidavit of R-1) wherein it has given
          OTS proposal. Based on the ratio of the judgement of
          Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of Lakshmirattan Cotton
          Mills Co Ltd and further reiterated in Dena Bank’s case
          (supra) that there is an acknowledgement of subsisting
          liability of the Corporate Debtor. However, it may not
          necessarily specify the exact nature of the liability. But
          it indicates the jural relation between the parties, and in
          any event, the same can also be derived by implication.
          Further, the said Letter is not “without prejudice” basis and,
          therefore, amounts to an unequivocal acknowledgement
          of liability of the Corporate Debtor. A reading of the
          documents above reveals that the Corporate Debtor has
          acknowledged/subsisting liability to attract the provisions
          of Section 18 of the Limitation Act, 1963.”
13. Having examined the matter in detail, we are of the opinion that
    the findings arrived at by the Adjudicating Authority and NCLAT are
1474                                                          [2024] 10 S.C.R.

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    correct in law and fact. We find no merit in the appeal. The Civil
    Appeal No. 1031 of 2022 arising out of the NCLAT order dated
    04.10.2021 (Company Appeal (AT) (Insolvency) No. 238 of 2020)
    is dismissed accordingly.
14. No order as to costs.

    Result of the Case: Appeal dismissed.



    †
        Headnotes prepared by: Mukund P Unny, Hony. Associate Editor
                                (Verified by: Liz Mathew, Sr. Adv.)


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VIDYASAGAR PRASAD versus UCO BANK & ANR. — 2024 INSC 810 - Legal Desk AI