At the Section 7 admission stage, financial debt must be...

At the Section 7 admission stage, financial debt must be assessed by including interest payable under the underlying financial arrangement where the surrounding evidence supports that liability. Inter corporate deposit transactions, demand letters specifying principal and interest, the corporate debtor's request for time to repay the entire amount, prior repayment conduct, and TDS deductions may cumulatively establish acknowledgment of the interest component. A written agreement is not indispensable if subsequent conduct corroborates the arrangement. Excluding interest and considering only principal can therefore understate the debt for applying the statutory threshold, resulting in restoration of the Section 7 application subject to the permitted payment timeline.

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