JUDGMENT :

S. RAVINDRA BHAT, J.

1. The appellant Paschimanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited (hereinafter “PVVNL”) is aggrieved by an order of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (hereinafter, “NCLAT”)¹ [Company Appeal (AT) (Insolvency) No. 639 of 2018, dated 15.05.2019] which rejected its appeal against an order of the National Company Law Tribunal, Allahabad (hereinafter “NCLT”/“Adjudicating Authority”)² [C.A. No. 88/ALD/2018 in CP No. (IB) 23/ALD/2017, dated 21.08.2018] which allowed an application directing the District Magistrate and Tehsildar, Muzaffarnagar to immediately release property (which was previously attached at the request of the appellant) in favour of the liquidator of the respondent Raman Ispat Pvt. Ltd. (hereinafter “corporate debtor”) for enabling its sale, and after realisation of its value, for distributing the proceeds in accordance with the provisions of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (hereinafter “IBC”/“Code”).

I. FACTS

2. The parties had entered into an agreement on 11.02.2010 for supply of electricity. Clause 5 of the agreement provided that:

“The outstanding dues will be a charge on the assets of the company. Before sale is made, the outstanding dues will be cleared and (in) the alternative the deed to agreements/sale will specifically mention the outstanding dues and the method of its payment.”

3. PVVNL raised bills for supply of electricity to the corporate debtor from time to time. Since the dues remained unpaid, PVVNL attached the corporate debtor’s properties by Order No. 1048, dated 12.01.2016. The Tehsildar, Muzaffarnagar by Order No. 1423F dated 23.01.2016, restrained transfer of property by sale, donation or any other mode, and also created a charge on the properties. The corporate debtor initially underwent resolution process under the IBC, however that process was not successful. It therefore became subject to liquidation.

4. Under the final bill dated 27.01.2017, the total arrears due were Rs. 4,32,33,883/-. Of this, the District Collector issued notice for recovery of outstanding dues to the tune of Rs. 2,50,14,080/- by auction of movable and immovable properties located at Khasara No. 0.4710, on 05.03.2018. The liquidator alleged that unless the attachment orders of the District Collector, Muzaffarnagar and Tehsildar, Muzaffarnagar were set aside by the NCLT, no buyer would purchase the property of the corporate debtor due to uncertainty about the authority of the liquidator to sell the property. The liquidator also took the plea that PVVNL’s claim would be classified in order of priority prescribed under Section 53 of the IBC and PVVNL would be entitled to pro rata distribution of proceeds along with the other secured creditors from sale of liquidation assets.

5. The liquidator’s position ultimately led the NCLAT to direct the District Magistrate and Tehsildar, Muzaffarnagar to immediately release the attached property in its favour so as to enable sale of the property, and after realisation of the property’s value, to ensure its distribution in accordance with the relevant provisions of the IBC. The NCLAT also endorsed NCLT’s reasoning that PVVNL fell within the definition of ‘operational creditor’ which could realize its dues