Section 9 insolvency proceedings require a clear and undisputed...

Section 9 insolvency proceedings require a clear and undisputed operational debt and default; where contemporaneous records, emails, invoices and payment entries reveal a genuine dispute over whether freight and allied charges were already discharged, the Adjudicating Authority must refuse summary insolvency relief. A later settlement between the creditor and a third party did not conclusively establish the corporate debtor's liability, especially where the debtor was not a party and the alleged assignment arose after the original transaction. The Tribunal reaffirmed that the IBC cannot be used as a substitute for recovery proceedings when disputed contractual claims need detailed factual adjudication, and it upheld rejection of the Section 9 application.

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