9911796707
TMI Blog2025 (5) TMI 267X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ed order, Interlocutory Application (IBC) No. 507 of 2025 filed by the Appellant has been rejected and Interlocutory Application (Plan) No. 60 of 2024 has been allowed approving the Resolution Plan of the Corporate Debtor- United News of India. These two Appeals have been filed challenging the order dated 12.02.2025 2. Brief facts necessary to be noticed for deciding the appeals are:- 2.1. The Corporate Debtor- United News of India is an aggregator of news, whose shareholders included leading newspapers like Times of India and The Hindustan Times. United News of India is one of the India's largest news agencies. An Agreement dated 29.05.2015 was entered between United News of India and the Appellant where the Appellant was chosen to develop various properties of United News of India situated in different cities in the Country. Amount of Rs.1 Crore was deposited by another group company of Appellant Poddar Projects Limited (PPL). An amount of Rs. 4 Crore deposited by the Appellant was treated as seed money. In terms of the Definitive Agreement, a Development Agreement had to be entered separately between the parties for each property. The Corporate Debtor's shareholders opposed th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Corporate Debtor, the Resolution Plans were submitted. The Respondent No.3- The Statesman Limited had also submitted its Resolution Plan. The CoC in its 25th meeting held on 03.10.2024 decided to put the Resolution Plan submitted by The Statesman Limited to vote. Voting commenced on 05.10.2024 and concluded on 23.10.2024. The Resolution Plan of 'The Statesman Limited' was approved by the CoC on 23.10.2024 with 100% voting share. The Resolution Professional received an e-mail dated 24.10.2024 from the Appellant submitting its claim in Form C although Form C was dated 22.10.2024 but the hard copy of the Form C was received on 25.10.2024 which was dispatched on 24.10.2024. On 25.10.2024, Resolution Professional filed IA No.60 of 2024 for approval of the Resolution Plan. On 31.10.2024, Resolution Professional sent an e-mail to the Appellant informing that Appellant's claim received on 25.10.2024 by Speed Post cannot be considered. The Resolution Plan has already been approved by the CoC and at that stage, no claim can be considered. Appellant after rejection of his claim filed an IA No.507 of 2025 on 14.11.2024 before the Adjudicating Authority seeking a direction to the Resolution Pro ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... in the books of accounts of the corporate debtor. The Resolution Professional has conducted the entire CIRP with the presence of sole Financial Creditor/ State Bank of India. Adjudicating Authority has failed to address the moot issue as to how the claim of the Appellant is getting extinguished under the provisions of the Resolution Plan. There is no decision holding that there shall be an automatic extinguishment of all rights and claims which arose prior to the CIRP. It is submitted that such extinguishment can only take place if the same has been specifically contemplated in terms of the Resolution Plan, part of which is referred in compilation referring the payment to the Appellant as 'Nil Amount being paid to the Other Creditors'. There is no rationale for the classification of the Appellant as an 'Other Creditor'. 6. Counsel appearing for the Resolution Professional refuting the submissions of the Counsel for the Appellant submits that after commencement of the CIRP on 19.05.2023, Resolution Professional has issued a public announcement in various newspapers inviting claims and an e-mail dated 28.05.2023 was also sent to the Appellant. In the Commercial Suit filed by the Ap ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... er considering all aspects of the matter has approved the Resolution Plan with 100% vote share. Claim of the Appellant was not filed before approval of the plan by CoC. Adjudicating Authority rightly rejected the application filed by the Appellant. Resolution Plan amount is Rs.72 Crore and Resolution Applicant is not under any circumstance to bring any amount over and above the above amount. The claim submitted to the Resolution Professional upto 11.07.2024 as updated by the Resolution Professional has been considered by the CoC. 9. We have considered the submissions of the Counsel for the parties and perused the record. 10. Appellant has filed Section 9 application on the basis of Definitive Agreement dated 29.05.2015 before the Adjudicating Authority claiming an amount of Rs.5 Crores along with interest. CP (IB) No.479 of 2018 filed by the Appellant came to be heard and dismissed by the Adjudicating Authority on 31.10.2018. Adjudicating Authority held that the claim filed by the Appellant does not qualify as an operational debt. Last two paragraphs of the order are as follows:- "5. The arguments advanced by the respondent merits consideration. The transaction is clearly one w ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... edings under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) have been initiated against the Defendant as an application under Section 9 of the IBC was admitted by the NCLT vide Order dated 19.05.2023. 2. Learned Counsel for the Plaintiff states that she is not aware of the outcome of the proceedings before the NCLT. She prays for an accommodation to ascertain the status of the application pending before the NCLT. 3. List on 28.01.2025." 12. As noted above, the CoC in its 25th CoC meeting held on 03.10.2024 resolved to put the Resolution Plan of 'The Statesman Limited' for voting which was held between 05.10.2024 to 23.10.2024 and on 23.10.2024 with 100% vote share, Resolution Plan of 'The Statesman Limited' was approved. The claim sent by the Appellant vide e-mail as well as the Speed Post to the Resolution Professional was received by the Resolution Professional vide Speed Post on 25.10.2024 and by e-mail on 24.10.2024. Form C which was forwarded by the Appellant although bears the date 22.10.2024 but it was dispatched on 24.10.2024 through Speed Post and by e-mail on 24.10.2024 i.e. subsequent to the approval of the Resolution Plan by the CoC. Resolution Professional has submitt ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Resolution Plan does not propose any payment to the other creditors whereas payment has been proposed to Financial Creditor secured, Operational Creditor, employees as well as Government dues and gratuity actuarial valuation. Appellant's submission is that the Resolution Professional committed error in categorising the Appellant's claim as 'other creditors' whereas fund infusion by Appellant qualifies as financial debt. The present is a case where Section 9 application was filed by the Appellant which was rejected holding that debt cannot constitute operational debt and thereafter Appellant had filed Commercial Suit in Delhi High Court in 2019 and the CIRP of the Corporate Debtor commenced on 19.05.2023 and after due publication although several other creditors have filed their claims, Appellant choose not to file its claim. Appellant cannot contend that he was not aware of the CIRP since in the proceedings filed by the Appellant itself in Delhi High Court the initiation of the CIRP has been noticed as has been noted by the Adjudicating Authority in its impugned order. Appellant was well aware of the initiation of the CIRP and had chosen not to file any claim. Resolution Plan has ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... RA - Vama has taken into account the interest of government authorities and provided for appropriate treatment of admitted government dues. The Resolution Plan submitted by the Vama has dealt with the claims of Operational Creditors to the extent of Rs. 10 lakhs besides earmarking an additional sum of Rs. 25 lakhs for all the Government Department claims and undertaken to pay all the PF dues at actuals based on the outcome of an ongoing legal case at Delhi High Court with respect thereto. Thus, the approval of resolution plan of SRA-Vama by Adjudicating Authority, which was approved by the CoC with 100% vote share, does not suffer from any material or procedural infirmities." 16. The claim submitted by the Appellant after approval of the Resolution Plan has rightly not been accepted by the Resolution Professional and we are of the view that the Adjudicating Authority also did not commit any error in rejecting IA No.507 of 2025 filed by the Appellant where direction was sought to Resolution Professional to condone the delay in filing the claim and further direction to the Resolution Professional to accept the claim. The Resolution Professional also cannot be said to have committed ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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