IBC | All Property, Including Alleged Benami Assets, Shielded From Action Over Pre-Resolution Offences: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court has recently held that once a resolution plan is approved under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, authorities cannot proceed against any property standing in the name of a corporate debtor for offences committed before the insolvency process, even if such property is alleged to be held benami. A single bench of Justice G R Swaminathan ruled that Section 32A(2) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, offers wide protection to the property of a corporate debtor after...

Delhi High Court Quashes Pre- Insolvency Resolution GST Demands Against Patanjali Foods

The Delhi High Court has set aside GST demands raised against Patanjali Foods Limited (Ruchi Soya) for periods preceding the final approval of its insolvency resolution plan on September 4, 2019. The court held that all statutory dues not included in the approved plan stood extinguished. A division bench of Justice Prathiba M Singh and Justice Shail Jain, in a judgment delivered on December 11, 2025, allowed Patanjali Foods' writ petition challenging an order dated January 21, 2025, along...

SARFAESI Sale Cannot Proceed If Sale Certificate Is Not Issued Before IBC Moratorium: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday held that a secured creditor cannot proceed with a SARFAESI sale once an interim moratorium under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code comes into force. It rulled that the Union Bank of India was not entitled to accept balance payments or issue a sale certificate after the personal insolvency process against the borrower had commenced. In an order passed on December 10, Justices R I Chagla and Farhan P Dubash held that “the secured creditor could not have...

Mere Forgery Claims Do Not Oust NCLT's Jurisdiction To Examine Disputed Company Records: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has recently held that mere allegations of fraud or forgery cannot be used to oust the jurisdiction of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). The court ruled that civil courts cannot entertain parallel suits when the same issues are already before the NCLT in an oppression and mismanagement case. A single bench of Justice Amit Mahajan, subsequently, set aside a trial court order that had refused to reject a civil suit filed by the founders of a defence-tech startup,...

'High Courts Do Not Substitute Statutory Tribunals', Calcutta High Court Refuses To Halt Guarantors' Insolvency Proceedings

The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday held that it cannot interfere with personal insolvency proceedings initiated under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, holding that such proceedings must take their course before the National Company Law Tribunal. A single bench of Justice Krishna Rao said the High Court could not halt a proceeding that falls within the jurisdiction of the adjudicating authority. The court said, “The National Company Law Tribunal being the statutory forum under the...

Delhi High Court Slaps ₹1 Lakh Cost On Litigant For Misusing Writ Jurisdiction To Stall DRT, NCLT Proceedings

The Delhi High Court recently imposed costs of Rs 1 lakh on a litigant while dismissing his writ petition that sought to halt proceedings pending before two Debts Recovery Tribunals and the National Company Law Tribunal. The Court held that the petitioner, Sanjeev Krishan Sharma, had failed to show any violation of fundamental rights, statutory mandate or natural justice that could justify invoking the High Court's extraordinary writ jurisdiction. The Division Bench of Justices Anil...

Pre-CIRP Tax Claims Extinguished After Plan Approval, Bombay High Court Quashes Tax Notices To V Hotels

The Bombay High Court has recently reaffirmed that income-tax assessment proceedings for any period prior to the approval of a resolution plan under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) stand extinguished once the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approves the plan, ruling that the tax department cannot initiate or continue such proceedings thereafter.A Division Bench of Justice B P Colabawalla and Justice Amit S Jamsandekar observed, “Once a resolution plan is approved by the...

Personal Criminal Liability Of Directors U/S 138 NI Act Survives Corporate Liquidation Under IBC: Himachal Pradesh High Court

The Himachal Pradesh High Court has reiterated that liquidation of a company under the IBC does not shield its directors from personal criminal liability in cheque bounce cases under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881(“N.I Act”) “15. ….Therefore, the orders passed by the learned Trial Court ordering the continuation of the proceedings against accused nos. 2 and 3 cannot be faulted.” Justice Rakesh Kainthla dismissed two petitions filed under Section 482 CrPC by...

Delhi High Court Upholds Liability Of Company To Reimburse Official Liquidator's Security Expenses For Safeguarding Corporate Assets

A division bench of the Delhi High Court, comprising Justice Anil Kshetrapal and Justice Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar, has upheld the liability of a company to reimburse the official liquidator's security expenses for safeguarding corporate assets. Background of the Case The winding-up process of the appellant company (M/s Connoisseur Buildtech Pvt. Ltd.) was going on in the year 2016. A disputed plot of the company was there in Greater Noida, which was secured by the official...

Gujarat High Court Approves One-Time Ex-Gratia Payment For Company-Paid Staff Of Official Liquidator's Office

The Gujarat High Court has approved a one-time ex-gratia welfare payment to 12 company-paid staff employed under the office of the official liquidator. “The welfare measure of a one-time ex-gratia payment is justified in equity provided that it doesn't prejudice the entitlement of stakeholders in liquidation proceedings,” Hon'ble Mrs. Justice Mauna M. Bhatt. Background The official liquidator filed the report seeking the High Court's direction to invest ex-gratia amounts from...

Consumer Complaint Is Not Maintainable Against Corporate Debtor During Subsistence Of Moratorium: Bombay High Court

The Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court, comprising of Justice M.M. Nerkiar, has held that the consumer complaint before the District Consumer Dispute Redressal is not maintainable if the insolvency of the corporate debtor has been admitted during the continuance of the moratorium. The petition was filed against the order of the District Consumer Dispute Redressal. In the impugned order the commission had directed the petitioner to return the JCB machine to the respondent. ...

NCLT President Cannot Transfer Cases Beyond Territorial Jurisdiction Of Bench: Gujarat High Court In Essar Steel Insolvency Case

The Gujarat High Court has recently held that the President of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has no authority to transfer cases from one State to another through administrative orders.The ruling came in proceedings linked to the Essar Steel insolvency process, where the court also found that repeated recusals by NCLT Members in Ahmedabad were neither "legal" nor "justified."A single bench of Justice Niral R Mehta made the finding in a petition filed by Arcelormittal Nippon Steel India...