Aroon Kumar Aggarwal Vs ABC Consultants Private Limited (NCLAT Delhi)
Summary: NCLAT Delhi allowed the appeal of an ex-employee and set aside the NCLT Kolkata order which had dismissed his Section 9 application on the ground of a pre-existing dispute. The Appellant, whose employment was terminated on 16.08.2016 following allegations of fraud, breach of trust and criminal proceedings, had claimed Rs. 33,42,002/- towards salary and employment-related dues. Although an FIR had been registered and charges had been framed against him, the Appellant contended that his claim for accrued salary, flexible pay basket, gratuity, performance bonus and business development bonus had no connection with those allegations. The employment agreement permitted termination without notice or payment in lieu of notice where termination resulted from misconduct, negligence or breach of employment terms.
Significantly, however, the Appellant did not claim the one month’s notice pay; he sought salary and other benefits which, according to him, had already become due before termination. Examining Section 8(2)(a) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, NCLAT held that the “existence of a dispute” must relate to the amount claimed by the Operational Creditor and cannot refer to just any dispute existing between the parties. The Tribunal relied particularly upon Thothappa Nainar Mohamed Sirajdheen, where an unrelated criminal proceeding did not constitute a pre-existing dispute regarding the operational debt, and Sudhi Sachdev, where proceedings under the Negotiable Instruments Act were likewise held not to establish a dispute regarding the payable debt.
