Vijay Kumar Singhania Vs Bank of Baroda (NCLAT Delhi)
Summary: The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), Principal Bench, New Delhi, comprising Mr. Justice Ashok Bhushan (Chairperson) and Mr. Barun Mitra (Technical Member), adjudicated an appeal filed by a suspended director of the Corporate Debtor, Cygnus Splendid Limited, challenging the order dated July 26, 2023, passed by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), New Delhi Bench (Court-II), admitting a Section 7 application filed by Bank of Baroda under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC).
The Corporate Debtor had obtained credit facilities from Bank of Baroda, comprising a Term Loan of ₹9.02 crore and a Cash Credit facility of ₹3.64 crore. Due to financial indiscipline and default in repayment, the loan accounts were classified as Non-Performing Assets (NPA) on March 13, 2017. The bank initiated recovery proceedings under the SARFAESI Act, 2002, taking symbolic possession of the secured immovable properties, and filed an Original Application (OA No. 615 of 2017) before the Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT) for recovery of ₹7.85 crore. The Corporate Debtor subsequently submitted multiple One-Time Settlement (OTS) proposals—notably on September 5, 2019, September 7, 2019, September 23, 2019, December 16, 2019, September 21, 2020, and November 3, 2020—wherein it explicitly acknowledged its liability to pay the defaulted debt. Thereafter, on January 3, 2023, the financial creditor filed a petition under Section 7 of the IBC claiming an aggregate default of ₹13.49 crore.
