Operational creditors and undervalued transactions under the Insolvency Code may be examined by the NCLT without a fixed limitation bar.

Workmen were treated as operational creditors entitled to invoke the NCLT under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code through Sections 6, 8 and 9. Sections 47 and 49 on undervalued transactions were stated not to be confined to any fixed limitation period from the insolvency commencement date, so the Tribunal could examine the earlier Supreme Court directions and related findings if the statutory conditions were met. Alleged breach of those orders or restraint orders could also be raised before the Tribunal, while contempt for violation of the Court's own interim orders remained available.

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Issues: Whether the workmen could invoke the jurisdiction of the National Company Law Tribunal under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 as operational creditors, and whether the directions and findings in the earlier Supreme Court orders could be examined by the Tribunal under Sections 47 and 49 of the Code without any fixed limitation period.

Analysis: The parties reached a consensus that the workmen fell within the definition of operational creditors and could invoke the jurisdiction of the National Company Law Tribunal under Sections 6, 8 and 9 of the Code. It was further agreed that Sections 47 and 49, dealing with undervalued transactions, were not confined by a fixed limitation period from the insolvency commencement date and could be invoked when their statutory conditions were otherwise satisfied. On that basis, the earlier directions and findings in the Supreme Court orders could be examined by the Tribunal, and any alleged violation of those orders or of restraint orders could be raised before it. The Court also left open the question of violation on facts and noted that contempt remedies would remain available for breach of its own interim orders.

Conclusion: The workmen were permitted to approach the National Company Law Tribunal under the Code, and the Tribunal was held competent to examine the earlier directions and related issues under Sections 47 and 49.

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