Insolvency moratorium protects only the corporate debtor, allowing consumer complaints against unprotected co-respondents to proceed on merits.

A moratorium under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code is confined to the corporate debtor and does not extend to directors, promoters, associated entities or other co-respondents unless expressly provided by statute. A consumer complaint may therefore continue against unprotected co-respondents, whose potential liability must be adjudicated on its merits. The Commission should not terminate proceedings against them at an interlocutory stage by treating the alleged deficiency as exclusively attributable to the corporate debtor while their liability remains unresolved.

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Issues: Whether a moratorium against the corporate debtor under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 prevents continuation of a consumer complaint against non-corporate-debtor co-respondents.

Analysis: The statutory moratorium under Section 14 is confined to the corporate debtor and cannot be extended to directors, promoters, associated entities or other respondents unless the statute expressly so provides. As no moratorium protected the co-respondents, their potential liability required adjudication in the consumer complaint. The Commission could not, while acknowledging that liability remained undetermined, foreclose proceedings against them by attributing the alleged deficiency exclusively to the corporate debtor at an interlocutory stage.

Conclusion: The consumer complaint may proceed against the co-respondents notwithstanding the moratorium applicable to the corporate debtor; their liability and objections must be determined on merits by the Commission.

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