NCLT Indore Admits Insolvency Plea Against Satiate Agri Over ₹6.27 Crore Default
The Indore Bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) admitted an insolvency petition filed by Excellence Finance Pvt Ltd against Satiate Agri Ltd for a default of Rs. 6.27 crore.
A Bench of Judicial Member Brajendra Mani Tripathi and Technical Member Man Mohan Gupta held that a creditor can trigger insolvency proceedings once it establishes the existence of a financial debt and default, irrespective of whether the default was wilful. It observed:
“..we are satisfied that the Applicant/Financial Creditor has established the existence of a financial debt and the occurrence of default, that the amount in default exceeds the threshold prescribed under Section 4, that the Petition is within limitation and is not hit by Section 10A, and that the application is complete in all respects.”
Excellence Finance Pvt Ltd extended two loan facilities to Satiate Agri Ltd in September and October 2025, aggregating to Rs. 6 crore. The loans were secured by a pledge of shares in Aadi Chemtrade Ltd held by the corporate debtor.
The facilities fell due on 31 March 2026, but Satiate Agri Ltd failed to repay them. Excellence Finance served a demand notice on 12 May 2026 and computed the outstanding amount at Rs. 6,27,09,615, including interest. It filed the insolvency petition on 2 June 2026.
Satiate Agri Ltd admitted that it had availed both facilities and acknowledged the default of Rs. 6.27 crore. It did not dispute the debt or its computation but contended that the default was not wilful and had resulted from temporary financial constraints.
The corporate debtor sought six months to arrange funds through internal accruals, asset sales and financial restructuring. It argued that admitting the petition and commencing the corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) would cause irreparable harm to its employees and stakeholders and defeat the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016's objective of revival.
The Tribunal noted that Satiate Agri Ltd had admitted availing both facilities, the facilities becoming due and its failure to repay them. It observed:
“The aforesaid facilities, having been disbursed against consideration for the time value of money, constitute “financial debt” within the meaning of Section 5(8) of the Code.”
The Bench also noted that the debt was secured by a pledge of shares in Aadi Chemtrade Limited held by the corporate debtor. It held, however, that the existence of such security does not alter the character of the underlying debt as a financial debt.
Further, the Tribunal held that once the existence of financial debt and default is established, the jurisdiction under Section 7 of the Code, which allows a financial creditor to initiate CIRP, is triggered irrespective of whether the default was wilful.
It also found that the petition was within the limitation period under Article 137 of the Limitation Act, 1963 and that the application was complete in all respects.
Accordingly, the NCLT admitted the application, appointed MVK IPE LLP through Mangesh Vitthal Kekre as the Interim Resolution Professional (IRP) and declared a moratorium under Section 14 of the Code. It clarified that the parties may settle the matter under Section 12A of the Code at any stage.
For Applicants: Ayushi Patidar, PCA
For Respondents: Advocate Rohit Dubey