Supreme Court Dismisses Law Firm's ₹1.08-Crore Claim Against Insolvency-Bound Realty Company

The Supreme Court of India has recently dismissed an appeal by a law firm seeking to recover more than Rs 1 crore in unpaid legal fees from a realty company undergoing insolvency, declining to interfere with findings that the claim was not backed by the record.

The appeal was filed by Juristica Legal Services LLP against Three C Universal Developers Private Limited, which is undergoing a Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process.

A Bench of Justices Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and Alok Aradhe held that the NCLAT had “not committed any error in law or fact” and dismissed the appeal.

Three C Universal Developers was admitted into CIRP on December 17, 2019.

Relying on an engagement letter dated June 1, 2016, that provided a fixed monthly retainer of Rs 6 lakh for legal services to the company and its group companies, Juristica Legal filed for a claim of Rs 1.08 crore.

The payment was sought for a period between April 2018 and September 2019.

The Resolution Professional admitted only Rs 45 thousand, citing the absence of corresponding entries in the corporate debtor's books of accounts. It also cited a lack of material showing that it had agreed to bear legal expenses incurred for group companies.

In an order dated August 20, 2025, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal also upheld the decision.

It noted that Juristica had failed to produce any board resolution or authorisation showing that the developer agreed to pay such costs.

It also flagged several inconsistencies in the invoices and held that the claim was not specific to the corporate debtor.

The ruling was challenged before the Supreme Court, which found no ground to interfere and dismissed the appeal.

For Appellants: Senior Advocate Nazmi Waziri with AOR Arvind Gupta, Advocates Mahjabeen, Khowaja Siddiqui, Ashwini Kumar, and Kanav Bhardwaj

For Respondents: Advocate Abhishek Anand, AOR Mandeep Kalra, with Advocates Palak Kalra, Ridhima Mehrotra, Vanshika Dhoot, Radhika Narula, Anushna Satapathy, Chitrangada Singh, Radhika Jalan, Widaphi Lyngdoh, Yashas J, Gauri Rajput, Vaibhav Yadav, Paras Mohan Sharma, and Shefali Tripathi.