TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2025 (12) TMI 1393
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....o. 9646 of 2024 ("Interim Application") in Arbitration Petition No. 1755 of 2015 ("Section 34 Petition") seeks this Court's intervention in a rather narrow compass. 2. The Applicant (Original Petitioner in the Section 34 Petition), Reliance Naval & Engineering Ltd. ("Reliance"), earlier known as Pipavav Defence and Engineering Limited was a "Corporate Debtor", which underwent resolution under the provisions of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 ("IBC"). 3. Under an arbitral award dated August 31, 2015 ("Arbitral Award"), Reliance owed to the Respondent, Afcons Infrastructure Ltd. ("Afcons"), a sum of Rs. ~49.11 Crores. The Arbitral Award was challenged by Reliance in the Section 34 Petition. 4. During the conduct of the Secti....
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.... deposit with the Registry of this Hon'ble Court simple interest @ 18% upon the amount of Rs. 12,76,91,279/- from the 20th of February, 2017, till the date of actual payment; C) That the Applicant be permitted to withdraw the amounts deposited by the Respondent under prayers (A) and (B) above. Analysis and Findings: 7. Since Reliance is a Corporate Debtor that has been resolved, the terms of the resolution plan having reduced the claim of Rs.49.11 Crores represented by the Arbitral Award to Re.1, such withdrawn amount cannot continue to remain with Afcons. The amount deposited in Court was custodia legis and had been released on the strength of the bank guarantee provided by Afcons. 8. It is only proper that the ....
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....the amounts awarded under the Arbitral Award stands effaced by the terms of the approved Resolution Plan and therefore, the Section 34 Petition itself is rendered infructuous since the Arbitral Award stands effaced, with nothing awarded in it capable of being enjoyed. IBC Provisions and Siti Networks: 12. The following extracts from the provisions of the IBC would suffice to appreciate the aforesaid position. The terms "claim", "creditor" and "debt" are defined in Section 3(6); Section 3(10); and Section 3(11) respectively, in the IBC as follows: Section 3(6): "(6) 'claim' means- (a) a right to payment, whether or not such right is reduced to, fixed, disputed, undisputed, legal, equitable, secured or unsecur....
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.... asset was held in the custody of the court. If, pending hearing of the challenge under the court's consideration, the corporate debtor were to be admitted to CIRP, then during the CIRP, it was held, the assets of the corporate debtor deserved to be conserved. Therefore, the assets belonging to the corporate debtor were held to be liable to be returned to the custody of the resolution professional. If a resolution plan were to be approved, it would abide by the approved resolution plan, and if the resolution were to fail, the assets in question would form part of the liquidation estate of the corporate debtor. 16. The matter in hand is far more conclusive than the factual matrix obtaining in Siti Networks. The resolution plan has indeed ....
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....ith Prayer Clause (C) extracted above. In other words, Afcons ought to be directed to bring the money back to the Court, which in turn ought to allow Reliance to withdraw such money. If Afcons does not bring the money back, the bank guarantee is liable to be invoked by the Registry and the amounts realised ought to be released to Reliance. Interest Claim - a Separate Cause of Action: 20. In the Interim Application, interest is being claimed by Reliance - strangely, from the date of the order directing Reliance to deposit the monies in Court, instead of the date on which the deposited amount was withdrawn. Be that as it may, there is no basis for awarding interest generally, and indeed specifically at the rate of interest as claimed by....