Tribunal Dismisses Creditor's Insolvency Application Due to Threshold Increase

The Tribunal dismissed the operational creditor's application seeking initiation of corporate insolvency resolution process against the corporate debtor under section 9 of IBC, 2016. The corporate debtor's argument regarding the increased threshold limit of Rs. 1 crore under Notification No. S. O. 1205(E), dated March 24, 2020 was upheld. The Tribunal held that the application did not meet the revised pecuniary limit introduced by the notification and therefore, was not maintainable. The decision was based on the prospective application of the increased pecuniary jurisdiction from March 24, 2020, as established in the case law reference.

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Issues:
1. Application filed by operational creditor seeking initiation of corporate insolvency resolution process against corporate debtor under section 9 of IBC, 2016.
2. Allegations of irregular salary payments, resignation, pending salary dues, and interest by operational creditor against corporate debtor.
3. Failure of corporate debtor to make payment as per joint memo, leading to demand notice and subsequent application by operational creditor.
4. Counter arguments by corporate debtor regarding maintainability of the application based on increased threshold limit and alleged communication of agreement to pay pending dues.
5. Dispute regarding notice of dispute issued by corporate debtor and suppression of facts by operational creditor.
6. Interpretation of the effect of liberty granted by the Tribunal in a previous case in light of increased threshold limit under Notification No. S. O. 1205(E), dated March 24, 2020.
7. Analysis of the prospective application of the increased pecuniary jurisdiction under the Notification by the Central Government.

Detailed Analysis:
1. The operational creditor filed an application under section 9 of the IBC, 2016 against the corporate debtor, citing irregularities in salary payments, resignation, and pending dues totaling Rs. 26,66,000. The corporate debtor failed to make the payment as per a joint memo, leading to a demand notice and subsequent application by the operational creditor.
2. The corporate debtor argued against the maintainability of the application, citing an increased threshold limit of Rs. 1 crore under Notification No. S. O. 1205(E), dated March 24, 2020. They claimed to have communicated an agreement to pay the pending dues, subject to an undertaking from the operational creditor.
3. The Tribunal analyzed the effect of the liberty granted to the operational creditor in a previous case in light of the increased threshold limit. It concluded that the liberty granted cannot circumvent the prevailing law and that the increased threshold limit must be satisfied for applications filed after March 24, 2020.
4. Referring to the decision in Madhusudan Tantia v. Amit Choraria, the Tribunal determined that the increased pecuniary jurisdiction operates prospectively from March 24, 2020. Therefore, the application filed by the operational creditor fell short of the revised pecuniary limit and was dismissed accordingly.

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