INTRODUCTION:

In a recent judgement of Paschimanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Ltd. v. Raman Ispat Private Ltd. and Ors. (being Civil Appeal No.7976 of 2019), the Hon’ble Supreme Court has held that Section 238 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (“IBC/Code”) overrides the provisions of the Electricity Act, 2003, despite the latter containing two specific provisions being Section 173 and 174 which have overriding effect over all other laws.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND:

In the blog post titled ‘Vidarbha Aftermath’, the decision of the Supreme Court of India (“Supreme Court”) in Vidarbha Industries Power Limited v. Axis Bank Limited[1] (“Vidarbha”) was discussed and analysed.

August, 2023 For Private Circulation - Educational & Informational Purpose Only A BRIEFING ON LEGAL MATTERS OF CURRENT INTEREST KEY HIGHLIGHTS * Calcutta High Court: Courts cannot re-appreciate the evidence or substitute its view with that of the arbitrator while considering the issue of enforcement of a foreign award.

The original version of this article was first published in the Trilegal Quarterly Roundup.

Key Developments

1. Supreme Court clarifies the scope of adjudicating authority’s power to decide on a financial creditor’s insolvency application when debt and default have been established

The Honourable Supreme Court, in the matter of Abhishek Singh v.Huhtamaki PPL Ltd. and Ors. recently rendered a significant ruling, establishing that a plea for the withdrawal of the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (‘CIRP’) can be allowed by the adjudicating authority even prior to the establishment of the committee of creditors (‘CoC’).

On 17 July 2023, the Hon’ble Supreme Court delivered its judgement in Paschimanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Ltd. v. Raman Ispat Private Limited & Ors., 2023 SCC OnLine SC 842 (Raman Ispat). The specific issue of whether Paschimanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Ltd. (Appellant) could enforce a security interest created over the assets of Raman Ispat Private Limited (Corporate Debtor) outside of the liquidation proceedings under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (Code) was settled in the negative. More importantly, the Hon’ble Supreme Court confined the applicability of State Tax Officer v.

In a significant order passed on June 28, 2023, in the case of Ronak Industries vs.

July, 2023 For Private Circulation - Educational & Informational Purpose Only A BRIEFING ON LEGAL MATTERS OF CURRENT INTEREST KEY HIGHLIGHTS ⁎ Delhi High Court: An arbitration clause contained in a contract perishes upon its novation. * NCLT Hyderabad rejects resolution plan for being incompliant with Regulation 36B 4(A) of the CIRP Regulations. * Madras High Court rejects enforcement of a foreign arbitration award which was passed without considering FEMA violations and fraud in share valuations. * NCLAT: NCLTs and NCLAT have the power to recall their judgments.

The Supreme Court has, in a recent decision, sought to narrow the discretion that may be exercised by National Company Law Tribunals in evaluating a financial creditor's insolvency application. The Supreme Court has held that once such a financial creditor has been able to establish debt and default, the tribunal is left with hardly any discretion but to admit such an application. This update examines the impact of the judgment against the backdrop of the Supreme Court's earlier decision in Vidarbha Industries v Axis Bank Limited.

Introduction

June, 2023 For Private Circulation - Educational & Informational Purpose Only A BRIEFING ON LEGAL MATTERS OF CURRENT INTEREST KEY HIGHLIGHTS ⁎ Supreme Court: Secured creditor not categorized as either financial creditor or operational creditor is entitled to retain security interest in pledged shares. * Supreme Court upholds the constitutional validity of Section 140(5) of the Companies Act, 2013, which inter alia imposes statutory bar on the auditor(s) for a period of five years. * NCLAT upholds the insolvency proceedings against Go First.