The Hon’ble National Company Law Appellate Tribunal, Chennai (NCLAT) in the matter of C. Somaiah Nadar v. P dot G Constructions Private Limited & Another, REED 2021 NCLAT Chen 06505, vide its judgment dated 3 June 2021, dismissed an application seeking for admission of partial claim after the approval of Resolution Plan under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016.
The present application was filed assailing the judgment passed by the National Company Law Tribunal, Chennai (NCLT) whereby the application filed by the Appellant was dismissed observing that since the filing itself was done on February 18 2020, after the approval of the Resolution Plan, the application seeking for admission of the partial claim, which has been rejected by the Resolution Professional cannot be admitted. The Appellant before the NCLAT argued that the impugned Order was based on non-application of mind, in view of the fact that the NCLT had failed to consider that the Appellant is an innocent Home Buyer, whose claim was rejected by the Second Respondent/Resolution Professional without appreciating the facts and documents. The Appellant submitted that he had paid the total sale consideration to the First Respondent Company/Corporate Debtor and hence, the Second Respondent/Resolution Professional should have admitted his claim in full.
The NCLAT noted that the Resolution Plan pertaining to the Corporate Debtor was approved on December 13 2019, whereas the present application was filed by the Appellant before NCLT on February 18 2020. The Supreme Court in the matter Committee of Creditors of Essar Steel India Limited v. Satish Kumar Gupta & Others, REED 2019 SC 11505 has held that a successful resolution applicant cannot suddenly be faced with undecided claims after the Resolution Plan being submitted by him and no creditor can, later on, make claims or demand any sum pertaining to a period prior to the passing of Resolution Plan. The Apex Court has also specifically observed that the Resolution Applicant cannot be allowed to face hydra-head suddenly popping up after the approval of the Resolution Plan in relation to the Corporate Debtor.
Accordingly, in light of this foregoing, the NCLAT held that the judgment passed by NCLT did not suffer from legal infirmities and hence, dismissed the present application.