Pre-existing dispute under the IBC bars Section 9 admission when arbitration notice predates the demand notice and the claim is the same.

An operational creditor's Section 9 IBC application is not maintainable where the record shows a real and existing dispute before the demand notice. Here, arbitration had been invoked before the Section 8 demand notice, and the dispute concerned the same work order and the same claim that formed the alleged operational debt. The adjudicating authority must examine whether a pre-existing dispute exists on the material record, and the presence of a prior notice of arbitration or dispute is sufficient to bar admission. The fact that the corporate debtor did not alone raise the objection was not decisive, because the underlying transaction was already disputed.

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Issues: Whether the operational creditor's application under Section 9 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 was barred by a pre-existing dispute between the parties.

Analysis: The record showed that the notice invoking arbitration had been issued before the demand notice under Section 8 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016. The dispute related to the same work order and the same claim forming the basis of the operational debt. Under the statutory scheme, the adjudicating authority must examine whether there is a real and existing dispute, and if a notice of dispute or record of arbitration exists before the demand notice, the application cannot be admitted. The objection that the dispute was not raised by the corporate debtor alone was not accepted as decisive, because the material on record showed an existing dispute concerning the underlying transaction.

Conclusion: The pre-existing dispute was established, and the Section 9 application was not maintainable.

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