NATIONAL COMPANY LAW TRIBUNAL

CHANDIGARH BENCH (COURT-I), CHANDIGARH

IA 827 of 2024 in CP (IB) No. 33/Chd/Pb/2023

Under Section 95 of the Insolvency and

Bankruptcy Code, 2016 read with Rule

Under Rule 11 of the National Company

Law Tribunal Laws, 2016

IN THE MATTER OF:

Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd

Office at 2^nd Floor, D-10, No.1-2, D Block,

Local Shopping Centre, Vasant Vihar, New Delhi- 110057,

Through its Authorised Representative

Email:- service.bank@kotak.com

....................…Petitioner/ Financial Creditor

Versus

Sh. Naresh Kumar

Director of M/s Doon Valley Rice Mills Ltd,

Outside Jundla Gate, Karnal (Haryana)

.....................…Respondent/Personal Guarantor

AND IN THE MATTER OF IA 827 OF 2024:

Mohit Kumar S/o Late Sh Naresh Kumar,

Director of M/s Doon Valley Rice Mills Ltd,

Outside Jundla Gate, Karnal (Haryana)

....................…Applicant

Versus

M/s Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd

Office at 2^nd Floor, D-10, No.1-2, D Block,

Local Shopping Centre, Vasant Vihar, New Delhi- 110057,

Through its Authorised Representative

Email:- service.bank@kotak.com

....................…Non- Applicant/ Petitioner

Judgment delivered on: 30.08.2024

SECTION: Rule 11 of the National Company Law Tribunal Rules, 2016 read with Section

95, IBC, 2016 Coram: HON’BLE SH. HARNAM SINGH THAKUR, MEMBER (JUDICIAL) HON’BLE SH. RAHUL PRASAD BHATNAGAR, MEMBER (TECHNICAL)

PRESENT:

For Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd : Ms. Divya Sharma, Advocate For the Applicant Sh Mohit Kumar : Ms.Aakriti Mittal, Advocate For the Resolution Professional : Ms. Swati Saluja, Advocate PER: SH. HARNAM SINGH THAKUR, MEMBER (JUDICIAL) &

SH. RAHUL PRASAD BHATNAGAR, MEMBER (TECHNICAL)

ORDER

IA 827 OF 2024 The present Application has been filed by Sh Mohit Kumar, (hereinafter referred to as the “Applicant” or “Financial Creditor”), who is the Legal Heir of Late Sh. Naresh Kumar, the Personal Guarantor to the Corporate Debtor M/s Doon Valley Rice Mills Ltd. This application has been filed under Rule 11 of the National Company Law Tribunal Rules, 2016, (For brevity “NCLT Rules”) seeking the dismissal of the Petition CP IB No. 33/ Chd/ Hry/2023 filed u/s 95 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (hereinafter referred to as the “Code”) as misconceived and not maintainable.

FACTS OF THE CASE

2. The facts of the case, as stated in the Application, are:

(i) The Corporate Debtor, M/s Doon Valley Rice Mills Ltd, began banking with the Petitioner, Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited (hereinafter referred to as the “Bank/

Petitioner Bank”) in the year 2002 by assigning a loan that the former had secured from the State Bank of India, to the Petitioner Bank as per the Assignment Deed. Subsequently the Corporate Debtor committed default, leading to an application being filed under section 7 of the IBC, 2016, captioned as CP IB No. 33/ Chd/ Hry/2023. The said CP IB was then admitted vide order dated 23.04.2023, thus leading to the initiation of the process of CIRP against the Corporate Debtor, while appointing Sh. Rajender Kumar Jain as the IRP.

(ii) The Corporate Debtor’s account was declared NPA on 27.05.2002. In 2006, the Petitioner Bank was assigned the loan owned by the Corporate Debtor as per the Assignment Deed. In 2008, the Petitioner Bank initiated the winding up proceedings against the Corporate Debtor, the company petition being C.P. No. 55/2008, before the Hon’ble Punjab and Haryana High Court, which was later transferred to this Adjudicating Authority. In the meanwhile the Petitioner Bank also filed an Original Application bearing No.425 of 2002 before the Debt Recovery Tribunal which vide order dated 13.06.2013 issued a Recovery Certificate against the Corporate Debtor. Since 2013, the Petitioner Bank chose to remain silent until 2022, when it issued a legal notice to the Legal Heirs of the Guarantor, Late Sh. Naresh Kumar, after the lapse of almost 20 years. The Applicant states that it is a settled Law that the Limitation Act, 1963 is applicable to applications filed against the Personal Guarantors under Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2