Rent and lease dues are not operational debt under the Insolvency Code, so a Section 9 petition cannot be maintained.

Rental or lease dues for immovable office space were treated as not falling within "operational debt" under Section 5(21) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, because they do not arise from the provision of goods, services, employment, or a statutory debt owed to the Government or local authority. The Tribunal noted conflicting appellate views but followed the later binding view rejecting rent-based claims as operational debt. On that basis, the rental arrears could not support a Section 9 insolvency petition, and the claim was held outside the Code's operational debt framework, leaving other remedies available in law.

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Issues: Whether rental dues arising from use of office space constitute operational debt under Section 5(21) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, so as to maintain an application under Section 9 of the Code.

Analysis: The Tribunal followed the prevailing view that lease or rent dues for immovable property do not amount to operational debt because such dues do not arise from the provision of goods, services, employment, or a statutory debt payable to the Government or local authority. It noted the conflicting appellate decisions, but treated the later appellate view rejecting rent-based claims as operational debt as binding on it. On that basis, the claim for rental arrears was held not to satisfy the definition of operational debt.

Conclusion: The rental dues claimed by the petitioner did not constitute operational debt, and the Section 9 petition was not maintainable.

Final Conclusion: The insolvency petition was rejected, while leaving the petitioner free to pursue other remedies available in law.

Ratio Decidendi: Dues arising only from rent or lease of immovable property are not operational debt under Section 5(21) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, and therefore cannot sustain an under Section 9 of the Code.

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