Pre-existing dispute under insolvency law depends on timing; post-notice objections and later arbitration cannot defeat Section 9 admission.

A pre-existing dispute must exist before receipt of the demand notice or invoice to bar admission of a Section 9 insolvency application. Where no objection to the work or claim was raised before the first demand notice, and disputes were raised only afterwards, the statutory requirement of prior dispute is not met. A notice invoking arbitration issued after the demand notice does not alter that position, and withdrawal of an earlier petition does not change the relevant date for assessing dispute under the Code. On these facts, the application was maintainable and admission of CIRP was not interfered with.

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Issues: Whether there was a pre-existing dispute between the parties before receipt of the demand notice so as to bar admission of the application under Section 9 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016.

Analysis: The relevant test is whether the dispute or arbitration proceeding existed before receipt of the demand notice or invoice. The record showed that no objection to the work or claim was raised before the first demand notice, and the corporate debtor responded with disputes only thereafter. The notice invoking arbitration was also issued after the first demand notice. Disputes raised after the demand notice cannot displace the statutory requirement of pre-existence. The withdrawal of the earlier petition did not alter the relevant date for examining dispute under the Code.

Conclusion: No pre-existing dispute existed before the first demand notice, and the application under Section 9 was maintainable. The challenge to admission of CIRP failed.

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