Execution of an arbitral award is not maintainable during corporate insolvency proceedings as approved resolution plans render prior claims extinguished.

JUDGMENT :

HARISH VAIDYANATHAN SHANKAR, J.

1. The present petition has been filed under Section 36 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 , A&C Act, read with Order XXI Rules 10 and 11 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, seeking enforcement of theArbitral Award dated 12.11.2021, read with the correction Order dated 20.12.2021 , Arbitral Award, against all the Judgment Debtors herein. In furtherance of the said enforcement, the Petitioner has accordingly formulated multiple prayers in the present petition.

BRIEF FACTS:

2. For the purposes of adjudication of the present lis, it is necessary to briefly set out the relevant factual background, insofar as it bears upon the controversy presently arising for consideration before this Court, which is delineated hereunder:

I. The Decree Holder was awarded a Letter of Award dated 12.08.2010, whereby it was entrusted with the work of construction, erection, commissioning and completion of five Induced Draft Cooling Towers for a thermal power project situated at Nashik, Maharashtra.

II. Pursuant thereto, a series of contracts came to be executed governing the said scope of works.

III. At the time of execution of the aforesaid Letter of Award and the underlying contracts, the contracting entity on behalf of the project owner was Indiabulls Realtech Limited.

IV. Subsequently, pursuant to a corporate reorganisation, the power generation business of Indiabulls Realtech Limited was transferred to the Rattan India Group, whereupon the said entity was rechristened as Rattan India Power Limited, and the project-specific company was renamed Rattan India Nasik Power Limited, which continued to function as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Rattan India Power Limited.

V. It is stated that the aforesaid contracts were completed by the Petitioner in June 2018.

VI. Subsequently, with effect from 05.02.2019, Rattan India Nasik Power Limited underwent a further change in its corporate name and came to be known as Sinnar Thermal Power Limited, which is arrayed as Judgment Debtor No. 1 in the present proceedings.

VII. Disputes arose between the Decree Holder and Judgment Debtor No. 1 in relation to execution of the aforesaid contracts, inter alia, concerning payments due, issuance of acceptance certificates and allied contractual obligations. Consequently, the Decree Holder issued a notice invoking arbitration dated 06.12.2019.

VIII. As the parties were unable to arrive at a consensus on the appointment of an arbitral tribunal, this Court, vide Order dated 31.01.2020 passed in ARB.P. No. 63/2020 titled as „ Paharpur Cooling Towers Ltd. vs. Sinnar Thermal Power Limited ‟, appointed Mr. Justice A.K. Pathak (Retd.), former Judge of this Court, as the Sole Arbitrator to adjudicate the disputes between the Decree Holder and Judgment Debtor No. 1.

IX. Upon completion of pleadings, recording of evidence and final hearing, the learned Sole Arbitrator rendered the Arbitral Award dated 12.11.2021, which was thereafter subjected to a Correction Order dated 20.12.2021.

X. The Award was passed in favour of the Decree Holder and solely against Judgment Debtor No. 1. Aggrieved thereby, Judgment Debtor No. 1 preferred a petition