An appeal against the admission of a corporate insolvency application filed in the name of the debtor by a suspended director is incompetent and not maintainable as per the provisions of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.

JUDGMENT :

SANJAY KUMAR, J

1. Nitendra Kumar Tomer, a suspended director of Ambro Asia Private Limited, the corporate debtor, filed the present appeal under Section 62 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016¹ [For short ‘the Code’] aggrieved by the judgment dated 07.01.2026 passed by the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal, Principal Bench, New Delhi (hereinafter, ‘the NCLAT’), in Company Appeal (AT) (Insolvency) No. 931 of 2024. By the said judgment, the NCLAT confirmed the order dated 18.04.2024 passed by the National Company Law Tribunal, New Delhi Bench (hereinafter, ‘the NCLT’), admitting CP (IB) No. 722/ND/2021, an application filed under Section 9 of the Code by Unox S.P.A., an operational creditor, respondent No. 1 herein.

2. At the outset, we entertained a doubt as to how the appeal before the NCLAT had been filed in the name of the corporate debtor, Ambro Asia Private Limited, after admission of the Section 9 application by the NCLT, vide order dated 18.04.2024. Thereupon, we were informed that this aspect was taken note of by the NCLAT. Our attention was drawn to the order dated 12.08.2025 passed by the NCLAT. Therein, the NCLAT noted that the appeal had been filed in the name of the corporate debtor whereas, after admission of the application under Section 9, the corporate debtor could be represented only by the interim resolution professional but the appeal, as instituted, was verified by Nitendra Kumar Tomer, a suspended director of the corporate debtor. The NCLAT further noted that an appeal in the name of the corporate debtor was not maintainable against an order of admission of an application under Section 9.

3. Having stated so, the NCLAT surprisingly went on to state that for the ends of justice, it deemed it appropriate to provide an opportunity to the appellant to amend the memo of appeal by filing an appropriate application and granted time. Thereafter, IA No. 4983 of 2025 was filed seeking amendment of the memo of appeal and the NCLAT allowed that application on 29.08.2025, permitting the appeal to be prosecuted by Nitendra Kumar Tomer, the suspended director of the corporate debtor. The appeal memo was taken on record, but we find that the final judgment dated 07.01.2026, presently under challenge before us, did not take note of the amended appeal memo and the judgment, as it stands, reflects the name of the corporate debtor as the appellant.

4. Having given thoughtful consideration to the matter, we are of the considered opinion that the NCLAT grossly erred in permitting a wholly incompetent appeal to be converted in the manner it was done. We may note that this incompetent appeal was filed on 24.04.2024 or thereabouts, assailing the order of admission dated 18.04.2024, and it was verified in the name of the corporate debtor, viz., Ambro Asia Private Limited, by Nitendra Kumar Tomer, claiming to be its director and authorized representative. However, respondent No. 2 in the appeal was none other than Piyush Moona, Interim Resolution Professional, who was appointed by the NCLT, vide the admission order dated 18.04.2024.

5. In this regard, reference may be made to Section 16 of the Code, titled ‘Appointment and tenure of interim resolution professional’. Insofar as an application under Section 9 of the Code is concerned, Section 16(3) is of relevance and it reads as under:

“(3) Where the application for corporate insolvency resolution process is made by an operational creditor and:

(a) no proposal for an interim resolution professional is made, the Adjudicating Authority sh