NCLAT Overturns Order Of NCLT, Holds Service Was As Per Master Data Details

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal, on July 21, held, “that observations made by the Adjudicating Authority that Master Data of the Corporate Debtor has not been placed to establish the fact of sending the Notices by email ID is incorrect.”

The Tribunal further observed that, “The email ID on which Notice was issued was very much part of the Master Data and the service was effected on the said email ID.”

Fact

The Tribunal heard an appeal against an order by which the Application filed by the Appellant under Section 9 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC) had been rejected on the ground that Appellant failed to serve Demand Notice under Section 8 of the Code as well as the Notices issued by the Adjudicating Authority.

In the Application, Appellant submitted that the Appellant had served the Notice by email to the Director of the Corporate Debtor and further the observations of the Adjudicating Authority that Applicant had not placed on record the Master Data of the Corporate Debtor was not correct since in the Application itself the Master Data of the Corporate Debtor was filed. The Appellant submitted that Company Master Data was already annexed with the Section 9 Application as Annexure 19 which had also been placed along with the Additional Document before the tribunal.

In the present appeal also, notices were issued to the respondent and affidavit of service was talso filed. 

Appellant submitted that neither before the Adjudicating Authority nor before this Tribunal the Respondent has appeared. Notices in the two Newspaper having already been published under the Orders of this Court, the Respondent did not appear.

Decision

The Tribunal observed that, “We are thus of the view that ground for rejection of the Application under Section 9 of IBC was erroneous.”

The impugned order was set aside and directions were issued to the Adjudicating Authority to pass an Order of admission of Section 9 Application under IBC within a period of one month and to take further steps in accordance with the law.