Kashyap lnfraprojects Pvt. Ltd. Vs Hi-Tech Sweet Water Technologies Pvt. Ltd. (NCLAT Del-hi)
NCLAT Delhi held that application under section 9 of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016 (IBC) of operational creditor not maintainable due to pre-existing dispute. Further, there was no requirement for the Adjudicating Authority to go under the skin of dispute
Facts- The present appeal filed under Section 61 of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016 by the Appellant arises out of the Order dated 02.11.2022 passed by the Adjudicating Authority. By the impugned order, the Adjudicating Authority has rejected the Section 9 application of the Operational Creditor by holding it as not maintainable due to pre-existing disputes. Aggrieved by the impugned order, the present Appellant has been preferred by the Operational Creditor-Appellant.
Conclusion- Held that the Adjudicating Authority did not commit any error in returning this finding keeping in mind that IBC bestows only summary jurisdiction upon the Adjudicating Authority. Once plausibility of a pre-existing dispute is noticed, it is not required of the Adjudicating Authority to make further detailed investigation. What has to be looked into is whether the defence raises a dispute which needs further adjudication by a competent court. It is well settled that in a Section 9 proceeding, the Adjudicating Authority is not to enter into final adjudication with regard to existence of dispute between the parties regarding the operational debt. There was no requirement for the Adjudicating Authority in the present case to go under the skin of dispute and therefore the Adjudicating Authority rightly held that the Section 9 application was not maintainable in the present factual matrix.
