IBC provisions cannot be turned into debt recovery proceeding: NCLAT

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal on Monday said the provisions of the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code (IBC) cannot be turned into a debt recovery proceeding as the idea of this special code is to bring a debtor company back on its feet.

Setting aside an order of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to initiate insolvency proceedings against Coppertun Brewing, the appellate tribunal observed it "clearly fell in error" in admitting the plea "while turning a blind eye" on the evidence of pre-existing disputes between parties.

When an operational creditor seeks to initiate an insolvency process against a Corporate Debtor, it can only be done in clear cases where no real dispute exists between the two, said the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) bench, comprising Chairperson Justice Ashok Bhushan and Member Barun Mitra.

"What also heavily weighs on our mind is that both in terms of the objectives of the IBC and settled proposition of law as expressed and ...