RP's Admission Of Claim In CIRP Not Acknowledgment Of Debt, Cannot Extend Limitation: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Wednesday held that admission of a claim by a Resolution Professional during insolvency proceedings is merely an administrative act and does not amount to an acknowledgment of liability under Section 18 of the Limitation Act, 1963. The court said such admission is only a recital or entry of debt and cannot extend the limitation period for initiating proceedings. “RP performs its administrative duties under Section 18 of the Code. The admission of a claim by RP is merely an...

NCLAT Chennai Dismisses Personal Guarantors Appeals Upholds 208-Day Exclusion In PGIRP

The Chennai Bench of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on 27 April dismissed four connected appeals filed by personal guarantors B. Nirmal Kumar, B. Kamlesh Kumar, B. Anand Kumar, and N. Rekha, challenging orders of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Chennai, dated 10 March 2026. A Bench comprising Judicial Member Justice Sharad Kumar Sharma and Technical Member Jatindranath Swain held that the NCLT correctly excluded a period of 208 days (16 April 2025 to 10 November...

IBC Time-Bound Resolution “Impossible To Achieve” Amid NCLT Delays; Supreme Court Takes Suo Motu Cognisance

The Supreme Court of India on Wednesday took suo motu cognisance of delays in approval of resolution plans pending before various benches of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), stating that the objective of time-bound resolution under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 is “impossible to achieve” in the present situation. A bench of Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice K.V. Viswanathan was hearing the matter pursuant to its order dated April 16, 2026. By that order, the Court had...

IBBI Extends Deadline For Public Comments On Proposed IBC Regulation Changes To May 5

The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) has extended the deadline for public comments on nine discussion papers proposing changes across multiple regulations under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, giving stakeholders additional time to weigh in on the proposed framework. In a press release issued on April 28, the regulator said the last date for submitting comments, originally set for April 28, has now been pushed to May 5. The consultation, opened on April 15, spans a proposed...

NCLAT Delhi Rejects STCI Challenge In IMP Powers Liquidation, Upholds NCLT Jurisdiction On Section 53

The New Delhi Bench of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on 27 April, dismissed STCI Finance Limited's appeals challenging the liquidation process of IMP Powers Ltd., holding that while the Liquidator's inclusion of STCI's assets in the liquidation estate was valid, STCI failed to establish any illegality warranting interference with the process. A Bench comprising Chairperson Justice Ashok Bhushan and Technical Member Indevar Pandey further held that disputes over the...

Inadvertent Email to Bidder Not A Breach Of Confidentiality: NCLT Indore Dismisses Plea Against Tax Officials

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Indore Bench, has dismissed a plea by the liquidator of Girdharilal Sugar & Allied Industries Limited seeking action against Commercial Tax Department officials for allegedly sharing details of a Stakeholders' Consultation Committee (SCC) meeting with a prospective bidder via email, holding that the inclusion was inadvertent and caused no prejudice. “In continuation thereof, it is of the considered view that a singular and isolated instance of...

Automated Set-Off Of Income Tax Refunds During Moratorium Violates IBC: NCLT Indore

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) at Indore recently held that even automated adjustment of income tax refunds during the IBC moratorium is illegal, directing the Income Tax Department to refund Rs 30.16 lakh set off against pre-CIRP tax dues of Sanwaria Consumer Limited. “The mere fact that the adjustment was effected through an automated or system-driven process does not alter its legal character. The effect of the action remains the same, namely recovery of pre-CIRP dues during the...

NCLAT Dismisses SRA's Appeal, Says CIRP Surplus Not In Resolution Plan Must Be Distributed Among Creditors

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) at Delhi has dismissed an appeal challenging the distribution of surplus generated during the insolvency process, holding that such surplus, if not provided for in the resolution plan, cannot be claimed by the successful resolution applicant and must be distributed under the IBC waterfall.A Bench of Justice Ashok Bhushan and Technical Member Indevar Pandey emphasised that the nature and timing of the surplus were determinative, observing: “The...

Stamp Duty Is A Fiscal Measure To Secure Revenue; Cannot Be Used To Defeat Creditors' Claims: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court of India on Monday held that stamp duty law cannot be used as a weapon to defeat creditor claims, ruling that defects in stamping are curable and do not invalidate corporate guarantees.A bench of Justices Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and Alok Aradhe set aside the March 2, 2021 order of the NCLT and the October 14, 2022 judgment of the NCLAT, which had rejected the claims of the SBI-led consortium of lenders against Reliance Infratel Ltd. on grounds including insufficient...

Conviction And Bar Suspension Disqualify Counsel From Appearance In Liquidation Matters: NCLAT Chennai

The Chennai Bench of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on 24 April held that R. Subramaniam, who had long represented the Liquidator of Cethar Ltd., could not continue as counsel in view of conflict of interest concerns, non-disclosure obligations under the Insolvency framework, suspension of his licence, and subsequent criminal conviction. A Bench of Judicial Member Justice Sharad Kumar Sharma and Technical Member Jatindranath Swain dismissed the appeal filed by V. Nagarajan,...

No Financial Debt Where Flats Given In Lieu Of Legal Fees: NCLAT New Delhi

The New Delhi Bench of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on 23 April dismissed the appeal filed by L & L Partners Litigation, holding that allotment of three flats by AKME Projects Ltd. towards professional legal fees did not constitute a “financial debt” under Section 5(8) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). A Bench comprising Chairperson Justice Ashok Bhushan and Technical Member Barun Mitra observed: “Amount raised from allottees under Real Estate Project has...

NCLT Kolkata Refuses To Exclude Stay Period For Liquidator's Fee Calculation Amid Misconduct Allegations

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) at Kolkata has refused to exclude, for the purpose of computing a liquidator's fee, the period during which the liquidation process was affected by appellate orders, holding that such benefit cannot be granted where the delay is linked to disputes over the liquidator's conductA coram of Judicial Member Labh Singh and Technical Member Rekha Kantilal Shah said, “In our view, if any dispute arises due to misconduct of the liquidator, resulting in litigation...