Pending Company Winding-Up Cases Before HC Transferable To NCLT Unless At Irreversible Stage: Calcutta HC

The Calcutta High Court has held that pending company winding-up petitions before High Courts can be transferred to the National Company Law Tribunal even after admission, a winding-up order, and appointment of an Official Liquidator, so long as the proceedings have not reached an irreversible stage.Relying on Supreme Court rulings on transfer of winding-up proceedings, a Division Bench of Justice Debangsu Basak and Justice Shabbar Rashidi observed: “Post admission of a winding up petition,...

Byju's Insolvency: Kerala High Court Strikes Off Voizzit Suit Over US Assets

The Kerala High Court on Thursday struck off a suit by Voizzit entities claiming rights over assets of BYJU'S US subsidiaries, holding that the proceedings were barred by the insolvency moratorium against BYJU'S parent Think & Learn Pvt. Ltd. Justice Easwaran S. passed the order on a petition filed by Claudia Z. Springer, the Chapter 11 Trustee appointed by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware in bankruptcy proceedings concerning BYJU'S US subsidiaries,...

Karnataka HC Says It Cannot 'Micromanage' CIRP Against Gulam Mustafa Enterprises Before NCLT Bengaluru

The Karnataka High Court has recently observed that it cannot micromanage proceedings before the National Company Law Tribunal by directing it to hear a company's applications in a particular order while hearing a petition filed by real estate developer Gulam Mustafa Enterprises Pvt. Ltd. “At the outset, this Court is of the considered view that the relief sought by the petitioner, in substance, amounts to inviting this Court to micromanage the proceedings pending before the adjudicating...

NCLT Proceedings Time Excludable Under Section 14 Limitation Act: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court on 6 May held that the time spent prosecuting insolvency proceedings before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) is liable to be excluded under Section 14 of the Limitation Act, 1963, even where a Section 9 application under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC) is rejected on the ground of pre-existing dispute. Justice Aniruddha Roy allowed a commercial suit filed by Jones Lang LaSalle Property Consultants (India) Pvt Ltd against M. A. Leasing and...

AP High Court Dismisses Plea Against NPA Classification; Says It Seeks To “Bypass” SARFAESI, IBC Proceedings

The Andhra Pradesh High Court has dismissed a writ petition filed by businessman Omkaram Venkata Ramana challenging the Bank of India's decision to classify his group companies' loan accounts as Non-Performing Assets (NPA). The court held that the petition sought to bypass proceedings already pending under the SARFAESI Act and Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). "In our considered opinion there cannot be any blanket orders passed as is prayed in this writ petition, which itself is not...

Bombay High Court Orders Constitution Of Special Bench Of NCLT To Dispose Of JM Financial's ₹167 Cr Insolvency Plea

On 30 April, the Bombay High Court directed the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Mumbai to constitute a Special Bench and dispose of JM Financial Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd.'s Section 7 petition against Shubh Hospitality Private Ltd. by 30 June 2026, and expressed strong disapproval of how the Tribunal handled the matter. A Division Bench of Justices Manish Pitale and Shreeram V. Shirsat emphasised that delays at the NCLT defeat the time-bound framework of the Insolvency and...

RTO Cannot Demand Pre-Liquidation Motor Vehicle Tax From IBC Auction Purchasers: Bombay High Court

On 22 April, the Bombay High Court, allowing a writ petition filed by My Ideal Transport, held that Regional Transport Offices (RTOs) cannot demand pre-liquidation Motor Vehicle Tax (MVT) dues from auction purchasers of vehicles sold during liquidation under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC). A Division Bench of Justices Manish Pitale and Shreeram V. Shirsat reiterated that statutory authorities must lodge their claims before the liquidator and have them resolved under the IBC's...

Telangana High Court Holds IBC Moratorium Cannot Defeat Arbitral Proceedings, Allows Kaizen Power Appeal

The Telangana High Court on 15 April set aside a Commercial Court order that had vacated interim protection granted to Kaizen Power Limited in relation to its lease dispute with the Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC). A Division Bench of Justices Moushumi Bhattacharya and Gadi Praveen Kumar held that the Commercial Court proceeded on an erroneous understanding of the effect of the IBC moratorium and allowed the appeal, directing that arbitration proceedings be resumed...

Madhya Pradesh HC Stays Arrest In Recovery Case Arising From RERA Order Against Insolvency-Bound Developer

The Madhya Pradesh High Court at Jabalpur has recently stayed the execution of an arrest warrant in recovery proceedings arising from a RERA order against a real estate developer undergoing insolvency, noting that enforcing civil jail despite a subsisting moratorium would cause serious prejudice.A bench of Justice Sanjeev S. Kalgaonkar observed, “The petitioner would be seriously prejudice, if the order regarding civil jail is executed in furtherance of the warrant of arrest despite there...

Lease Termination, Eviction During IBC Moratorium Of Gujarat Hydrocarbons And Power SEZ Invalid: Gujarat HC

The Gujarat High Court has dismissed an appeal by Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation and upheld the quashing of its decision to terminate a lease and evict Gujarat Hydrocarbons and Power SEZ Ltd during insolvency proceedings. The court held that both the termination of the lease and the eviction action were “non est, illegal and bad in law” as they were taken during the moratorium period. “Given the object of Section 14(1) of the IBC' 2016, in the facts of the present case, neither the...

IBC Offences Triable Only By Special Court Where Company's Registered Office Is Located: Madhya Pradesh HC

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has held that offences under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 can be tried only by the Special Court having jurisdiction over the place where a company's registered office is situated, ruling that a Gwalior court lacked inherent jurisdiction to entertain a complaint against a company whose registered office is in New Delhi.“From the bare reading of section 436 it is clear that offences shall be triable only by the Special Court established under section 435...

IBC Auction Purchaser Not Liable For Past Electricity Dues: Telangana HC Sets Aside ₹2.64 Lakh Demand

The Telangana High Court has recently set aside a demand raised against an auction purchaser under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, holding that such a purchaser cannot be made liable for electricity dues of the previous owner where the claim was not part of the insolvency process, and further that a demand raised after nearly 16 years is barred by limitation. Justice Renuka Yara, allowing the writ petition, emphasised that once the resolution process concludes, undisclosed statutory dues...