Case Law Details
IIFL Home Finance Ltd Vs Shiv Nandan Sharma Resolution Professional Saha Infratech Pvt Ltd (NCLAT Delhi)
In the case of IIFL Home Finance Ltd Vs Shiv Nandan Sharma, Resolution Professional Saha Infratech Pvt Ltd, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) in Delhi addressed an appeal arising from an order dated January 23, 2024, by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in New Delhi. The appellant, IIFL Home Finance Ltd, sought a direction for the Resolution Professional to acknowledge their claims and create a chart concerning the flats being developed by Saha Infratech Pvt Ltd. The NCLT dismissed the application, leading to this appeal.
The background of the case involves Saha Infratech Pvt Ltd, the Corporate Debtor, which was developing a residential project named ‘Amadeus’ in Noida. Homebuyers, who had taken loans from IIFL Home Finance Ltd to purchase these flats, mortgaged their units as security against the loans. The Appellant claimed that these agreements made them a secured creditor. However, following the commencement of Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) against Saha Infratech Pvt Ltd on February 28, 2020, the appellant’s claims were not admitted by the Resolution Professional.
The appellant argued that their status as a secured creditor, due to the mortgage agreements, was being ignored, thus affecting their rights. They contended that the loans given to the homebuyers, secured against the flats, should grant them the status of a secured financial creditor. The NCLAT, however, referenced a previous decision which clarified that homebuyers should be considered as financial creditors of the corporate debtor, irrespective of whether they self-financed their flats or took loans from banks.
Ultimately, the NCLAT upheld the NCLT’s decision, stating that the appellant could not be classified as a secured financial creditor. The tribunal emphasized that the presence of a tripartite agreement did not alter the nature of the homebuyers’ loans concerning the corporate debtor. The tribunal concluded that including banks or financial institutions that provided loans to homebuyers as financial creditors would contradict the spirit and objective of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), which aims at resolution and maximization of the corporate debtor’s assets. Consequently, the appeal was dismissed, affirming the NCLT’s order.
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