Tribunal's Powers under Companies Act 2013: Clarification on Corporate Debtor's Submissions

The Tribunal invoked inherent powers under the Companies Act 2013 to address issues raised in a case involving a Corporate Debtor. Despite a delay in passing the order, the Tribunal found that the Corporate Debtor had the opportunity to make submissions. The Tribunal held that the Corporate Debtor should have raised certain pleas in the initial application and dismissed a subsequent application for failure to do so. It clarified that creditor applications must be decided promptly within 14 days of filing. The Tribunal dismissed the application for non-compliance with the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code and addressed the issue of the agency's involvement.

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Issues Involved:
1. Clarification on two issues - another CA filed by the Corporate Debtor and putting the name of the agency (CIBIL).

Analysis:
1. The Tribunal invoked inherent powers under the Companies Act 2013 to address the issues raised. The Corporate Debtor's Counsel mentioned non-service of notice in another application (IA 6/2017). The Tribunal noted that the argument of non-service would be insignificant as the Corporate Debtor had been heard on a previous application. Despite the delay in passing the order, the Tribunal decided that the Corporate Debtor had the opportunity to make submissions, even though not explicitly provided for in the Code.

2. The Tribunal held that the Corporate Debtor should have raised the plea of no default in the initial application (CA 6/2017) along with other issues. Since the Corporate Debtor failed to do so, the Tribunal deemed the subsequent application as not entertainable for two reasons: first, the Corporate Debtor had not been granted an audience in the Code, and second, even if assumed to have the right to raise objections, the failure to do so in the earlier application barred the Corporate Debtor from raising such pleas in subsequent applications.

3. The Tribunal clarified that creditor applications must be decided promptly within 14 days of filing to ensure compliance with the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code. In this case, since the application did not meet the requirements of Section 7 of the Code, the Tribunal dismissed the application without delving into its merits. Additionally, the Tribunal corrected that the default had been considered based on the report from CIBIL, addressing the second issue raised regarding the agency's involvement in the matter.

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