Ganesh Venkata Siva Rama Krishna Remani Vs Puneet P. Bhatia & others (NCLT Mumbai)
The application before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Mumbai Bench, was filed by the Resolution Professional in the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) of Barracks Retail India Private Limited under sections 66(1), 68, 70, 72, 73, and 74 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016. After approval of the resolution plan, ASREC (India) Private Limited continued the proceedings in place of the original applicant. The application sought directions against the former director and other respondents for alleged diversion of rental income from properties belonging to the corporate debtor.
The corporate debtor had commercial premises at Bhiwandi comprising multiple galas across ground, first, and second floors. The Tribunal noted that the corporate debtor was admitted into CIRP on 09.01.2024. The applicant alleged that Respondent No. 1, who was a director of the corporate debtor at the commencement of CIRP, executed leave and license agreements in his personal capacity shortly before commencement of CIRP in order to derive personal gains from the properties owned by the corporate debtor.
According to the application, Respondent No. 1 initially provided forged and fabricated leave and license agreements to the Resolution Professional, indicating that the entire building, except the third floor, had been leased to M/s Associated Assemblies & Repackers under agreements dated 17.11.2022. Upon further inquiry into prevailing market rates and tenancy arrangements, the Resolution Professional discovered that the documents supplied were allegedly forged. It was found that separate agreements actually existed with M/s Bhandari Packaging Solutions for Gala No. 8, M/s NPS Impex LLP for Gala Nos. 10, 11, and 12, and M/s Associated Assemblies & Repackers for other specified galas.
