On May 21, 2021, the Apex Court of India, in the case of Lalit Kumar Jain vs. Union of India & Ors.¹, upheld the validity of the Centre’s notification dated November 15, 2019, allowing banks to proceed against personal guarantors for recovery of loans given to a company under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC) (“Notification”).

The COVID-19 pandemic has led successful resolution applicants to seek withdrawals of, or modifications to, approved resolution plans. This article examines the Supreme Court’s recent judgment on claims of force majeure in the resolution process of Amtek Auto.

INTRODUCTION:

Abstract

The question whether the institution or continuation of a proceeding under Section 138/141 of the Negotiable Instruments (NI) Act  can be said to be covered by the moratorium provision, namely, Section 14 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) has been a crucial issue in the legal domain. Various High courts have had dissenting opinion in relation to this concerning matter. However the Apex court has now put an end to all doubts and confusions.

Law of Limitation prescribes the time limit for different types of suits for which an aggrieved person can approach the court for redressal. For Insolvency applications, the limitation period is 3 years.

A three-judge Bench of the Supreme Court (SC), by a common judgement in Asset Reconstruction Company (India) Limited vs. Bishal Jaiswal (15 April 2020, Civil Appeal No 323 of 2021) and related matters, has held that the  for the purposes of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC), balance sheet entries  could constitute an acknowledgment of debt under Section 18 of the Limitation Act, 1963 (Limitation Act). 

1．【インド】インド倒産法における倒産申立ての制限措置の終了

ASIA & EMERGING COUNTRIES LEGAL UPDATE の 2020 年 11 月号のニュースレター（下記リンク先参照） でお知らせしたとおり、インドでは、新型コロナウイルスの感染拡大と、それに伴う企業の業績悪化への対策の１つ として、インドの倒産法である Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016（以下「インド倒産法」という。）に基づく倒 産申立てが、2020 年 3 月 25 日からの 6 か月の間（すなわち、2020 年 9 月 25 日まで）の間、制限（停止）さ れており、またその後、インド企業省により、制限（停止）期間が 2020 年 12 月 25 日まで延長されていた。 https://www.amt law.com/publications/detail/publication_0022372_ja_001

Following significant deliberations by the Insolvency Law Sub-Committee chaired by Mr. M.S. Sahoo (Chairman of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India), along with other advisors, including our founding partner Mr. Bahram Vakil, the Government of India, has on April 04, 2021 notified the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Ordinance, 2021 to introduce a framework for pre-packaged insolvency resolution of micro, small and medium enterprise companies (‘PPIRP’).

PREPACKAGED INSOLVENCY RESOLUTION FOR MSMEs – FIRST STEP TOWARDS A LONG AWAITED LEGAL FRAMEWORk