The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Friday set aside the insolvency proceedings initiated against cable and wire manufacturer Polycab India Limited over alleged operational dues of ₹2.78 crore.
A bench of officiating chairperson Justice Yogesh Khanna and technical members Barun Mitra and Ajai Das Mehrotra allowed the appeal filed by Polycab’s suspended director Bharat Ajay Jaisinghani against the admission of an insolvency petition by Asier Metals Private Limited.
Pronouncing its decision, the NCLAT held that the adjudicating authority had erroneously admitted the application under Section 9 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).
It consequently set aside the admission order, the initiation of the corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) and consequential orders, releasing Polycab from the proceedings.
The dispute arose from supplies of aluminium ingots by Asier Metals. On October 7, the NCLT Ahmedabad admitted the operational creditor’s petition and appointed Sunit Jagdishchandra Shah as Interim Resolution Professional.
Polycab had opposed the petition, arguing that the invoices reflected provisional billing, the parties’ ledgers required reconciliation and an ₹80 lakh deduction towards demurrage remained pending. It maintained that these issues constituted a pre-existing dispute barring admission of the insolvency petition.
However, the NCLT bench of judicial member Shammi Khan and technical member Sanjeev Sharma rejected these defences.
It noted that the purchase orders stipulated a fixed and firm price and that Polycab had not produced a debit note supporting its position. It also rejected the provisional-billing argument, observing that the company had not submitted any final invoice differing from the provisional invoice.
Jaisinghani subsequently challenged the order before NCLAT.
On October 9, the appellate tribunal stayed the admission order and directed deposit of the entire claimed amount with its Registrar.
Senior Advocate Arun Kathpalia, appearing for Jaisinghani at the interim hearing, submitted that the amount would be deposited without prejudice to his client’s rights and contentions.
He also pointed to pre-existing disputes concerning credit notes and highlighted Polycab’s standing as India’s largest integrated cable manufacturer.