 "ibc")
Appellate tribunal NCLAT has set aside an NCLT order that rejected an operational creditor's plea seeking insolvency proceedings against Ansal Housing, terming it as a "fit case for the admission of CIRP".
A two-member National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) bench said realty firm Ansal Housing has an operational debt due and payable, and dismissal of the Section 9 petition by the NCLT is "perverse and illegal and liable" to be set aside.
Moreover, it has also directed Ansal Housing to pay Rs 12.72 lakh to Clicbrics Technologies within a month of the passing of this order.
"The above payment shall be released within 30 days from the date of uploading of this order failing which the Corporate Debtor would come under the rigours of CIRP (corporate insolvency resolution process) on the expiry of said 30 days period," said an NCLAT order passed on April 5.
It also added that in case, the operational creditor refuses to accept the above sum as payment towards operational debt, the Section 9 petition shall become infructuous and deemed to have been dismissed.
Section 9 gives power to the operational creditors of a company to initiate a corporate insolvency resolution process in case of a default.
The NCLAT direction came over a petition filed by Clicbrics Technologies against the order passed by the New Delhi-based bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).
The NCLT had dismissed the plea filed by the operational Creditor under Section 9 of the IBC seeking initiation of CIRP against Ansal Housing Ltd.
Clicbrics Technologies was the exclusive real estate agent for brokering the sale/ purchase of units of the residential project - Ansal Town, Meerut, for the period July 10, 2018, to December 31, 2018.
It had raised bills for brokering commission from time to time. However, Ansal stopped making payments for invoices raised by the operational creditor w.e.f. October 10, 2018.
Later, it sent a demand notice under Section 8 of IBC on March 27, 2019, claiming an amount of Rs 14.70 lakh. On non-receipt of any further payment, the operational creditor moved NCLT.
However, the NCLT rejected it observing that the operational creditor had approached with a mala-fide intention and not for genuine resolution having shown an unwillingness to accept the amount, which Ansal Housing had endeavoured to pay towards the outstanding dues.
This order was set aside by the NCLAT by saying: "To sum up, the operational debt which had admittedly become due and payable having not been disputed prior to the issue of demand notice and not been discharged by the Corporate Debtor, this is a fit case for the admission of CIRP".
"The dismissal of the Section 9 petition by the Adjudicating Authority is perverse and illegal and liable to be set aside," it added.
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