Greenshift Initiatives Pvt. Ltd. Vs Sonu Gupta (NCLAT Delhi)
National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) Delhi has dismissed an appeal filed by Greenshift Initiatives Pvt. Ltd., upholding the Adjudicating Authority’s decision to deny the appellant a seat in the Committee of Creditors (CoC). The case involved the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) of Rolta Bi & Big Data Analytics Pvt. Ltd.
The CIRP commenced on October 13, 2023, and the public announcement inviting claims was issued on October 16, 2023, with a deadline of October 28, 2023. Subsequently, on November 6, 2023, Greenshift Initiatives entered into an Assignment Agreement with Rolta Pvt. Ltd., acquiring a debt of Rs. 3,25,000. While the Resolution Professional (RP) admitted the claim for Rs. 3,48,742, they denied Greenshift Initiatives a seat in the CoC, citing the assignment’s timing and the assignor’s related party status.
Greenshift Initiatives argued that the mere fact that Rolta Pvt. Ltd. was a related party did not automatically make them a related party. They relied on the Supreme Court judgment in Phoenix ARC Private Limited vs. Spade Financial Services Ltd. & Ors., which clarified that a financial creditor not currently a related party should not be barred from the CoC. However, the NCLAT highlighted the judgment’s caveat: the assignment should not be intended to sabotage the CIRP or dilute other creditors’ voting rights.
The NCLAT observed that the assignment occurred after the CIRP’s commencement, indicating an intent to gain a CoC seat and potentially influence the process. The RP’s reply before the Adjudicating Authority emphasized that the assignment was made after the CIRP commencement date and that “one cannot assign a better right that he himself possess.” The NCLAT agreed, stating that the assignment’s timing and circumstances revealed an attempt to affect the rights of other creditors. Consequently, the NCLAT upheld the Adjudicating Authority’s decision, finding no error in rejecting Greenshift Initiatives’ application for a CoC seat and dismissed the appeal.
FULL TEXT OF THE NCLAT JUDGMENT/ORDER
