Valid section 8 demand notice must match the correct corporate debtor before section 9 insolvency proceedings can proceed.

A section 8 demand notice under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code is valid only when it is issued to the correct corporate debtor in relation to the debt and invoices relied upon. Where the invoices were raised in the name of one company but the demand notice and section 9 proceedings were pursued against a different entity with a different CIN and registered address, the notice could not be treated as valid service on the respondent. As valid service under section 8 is a mandatory precondition for a section 9 application, the insolvency admission could not stand and the CIRP against the respondent company was set aside.

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Issues: Whether a demand notice issued under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 for dues said to belong to one company can be treated as valid when served on a different corporate entity.

Analysis: The invoices were found to have been issued in the name of one company, while the demand notice and section 9 proceedings were pursued against another company with a different corporate identity, CIN and registered address. Service of a demand notice under section 8 is a mandatory precondition for an application under section 9, and the notice must correspond to the actual corporate debtor and the invoices relied upon. Since the claim related to a different entity, the notice could not be treated as valid service on the corporate debtor.

Conclusion: The demand notice was invalid and the section 9 admission could not stand.

Final Conclusion: The insolvency admission was set aside and the corporate insolvency resolution process against the respondent company came to an end.

Ratio Decidendi: A section 8 demand notice is valid only if it is issued against the correct corporate debtor in relation to the debt and invoices relied upon; notice served for the dues of a different legal entity cannot sustain a section 9 application.

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