Raja Som Sehrawat Vs Optiemus Infracom Limited (NCLAT Delhi)
The appeal before the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal, Delhi arose from dismissal of an application filed under Section 7 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC), seeking initiation of the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP). The Adjudicating Authority (NCLT) had dismissed the application on the ground that the alleged default fell within the period barred by Section 10A of the IBC, which suspends initiation of insolvency proceedings for defaults occurring during the specified COVID-19 period.
This was the second round of litigation. Initially, the Section 7 application was rejected in July 2022 due to misreading of bank statements. That rejection was set aside by the Appellate Tribunal in January 2023, and the matter was remanded to the NCLT for fresh consideration. Upon remand, the NCLT again dismissed the application by order dated 10.11.2023, holding that the date of default was 21.10.2020, which fell squarely within the exclusion period prescribed under Section 10A.
The appellant claimed that an interest-free loan of ₹3.30 crore was extended to the corporate debtor in July 2020 for a period of three months, with repayment allegedly extended from time to time on request of the corporate debtor. No written loan agreement or documentary evidence of extension was produced. A demand notice was issued on 30.09.2021, and the date of default was stated in the application and demand notice as 22.10.2020.
