R. K. Purushothaman Vs DE Grande Sports Private Limited (NCLT Mumbai)
The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Mumbai, considered an application filed under Section 7 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 seeking initiation of Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) against a corporate debtor for a default amount of ₹3.62 crore, including a principal sum of ₹2.95 crore. The financial creditor, an individual, had disbursed the loan in multiple tranches between July 2021 and March 2022 under a loan agreement dated 09.09.2020, carrying interest at 8% per annum. The corporate debtor had also executed a demand promissory note and a corporate guarantee was provided by its holding company. Despite repeated demands and a formal recall notice dated 19.09.2024 requiring repayment within 15 days, the debtor failed to repay, resulting in a default crystallising on 04.10.2024.
The corporate debtor raised several objections to the maintainability of the petition. It argued that the loan agreement was neither stamped nor notarised, making it inadmissible. It further contended that no proper authenticated record of default from the National e-Governance Services Ltd. (NeSL) was submitted, and that the date of default was inconsistent given the time gap between loan disbursement and alleged default. The debtor also challenged the computation of interest beyond the default date and alleged misuse of insolvency proceedings by the creditor.
