Arbitration clauses do not bar an operational creditor from...

Arbitration clauses do not bar an operational creditor from pursuing the statutory insolvency remedy, even where arbitration is available or has been initiated, provided debt and default are established. A settlement amount arising from disputes connected with the supply of raw cotton constitutes operational debt because it is a claim in respect of goods; the claimant is therefore an operational creditor. A damages claim raised only in reply to the demand notice, without prior genuine adjudicatory or arbitral pursuit and supported only by limited correspondence, is not a pre-existing dispute. The rejection of the operational debt application was quashed, and admission and further proceedings were directed in accordance with law, including moratorium.