IN THE NATIONAL COMPANY LAW TRIBUNAL

NEW DELHI, COURT-III C.P. (IB) –227(ND)/2024

Order under Section 9 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 read with Rule 6 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy (Application to Adjudicating Authority)

Rules, 2016.

IN THE MATTER OF:

M/s. VERMILLION COMMUNICATION PVT. LTD.

Through its Authorized Representative

Mr. Jyotirmay Pandey

1104, Prakash Deep Building,

7 Tolstoy Marg, Connaught Place,

New Delhi- 110001

.… Operational Creditor

VERSUS

M/s. HERO ELECTRIC VEHICLES PVT. LTD

Having Its Registered Office at:

50, Okhla Industries Estate,

Phase- III, New Delhi- 110020

…. Corporate Debtor

Order Pronounced On: 09.10.2024

SHRI BACHU VENKAT BALARAM DAS, HON’BLE MEMBER (JUDICIAL)

SHRI ATUL CHATURVEDI, HON’BLE MEMBER (TECHNICAL)

APPEARANCES:

For Petitioner: Mr. Abhishek Anand, Mr. Aditya Gauri, Mr. Amar Vivek, Ms.

Damini Sreshtha Mr. Dhananjay Sud Advs.

For Respondent: Mr. Alok Dhir, Ms. Varsha Banerjee, Mr. Udita Singh Advs.

ORDER

PER: ATUL CHATURVEDI, MEMBER (TECHNICAL)

1. This is an Application filed under Section 9 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (‘the Code’) read with Rule 6 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy (Application to Adjudicating Authority) Rules, 2016 by M/s. Vermillion Communications Pvt. Ltd. (‘Operational Creditor’), against the Corporate Debtor for the purpose of initiating Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (‘CIRP’)

against M/s. Hero Electric Vehicles Pvt. Ltd. (‘Corporate Debtor’).

2. The Operational Creditor is a media agency engaged in the business of handling media buying & implementation needs in the mainstream media (Print, TV, Radio, Outdoor and Video). The registered office of the Operational Creditor is at 1104, Prakash Deep Building, 7 Tolstoy Marg, Connaught Place, New Delhi- 110001. The Corporate Debtor i.e., M/s. Hero Electric Vehicles Pvt. Ltd. is a company incorporated under the Provision of the Companies Act, 1956 and is engaged in the field of electric mobility solutions. The Company offers electric two wheelers. The registered office of the Corporate Debtor is at 50, Okhla Industries Estate, Phase III, New Delhi- 110020. The Corporate Debtor has Nominal Share Capital of Rs. 61,45,33,170/- and Paid-Up Share Capital of Rs. 51,16,95,650/-.

3. The present Petition was filed on 04.04.2024 before this Adjudicating Authority.

The total amount due as on 28.05.2023 is Rs. 1,29,84,822/- (Rupees One Crore Twenty-Nine Lakhs Eighty-Four Thousand Eight Hundred Twenty-Two Only).

4. Submissions of the Operational Creditor i. The Operational Creditor is a company duly incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956. The Operational Creditor is a media agency engaged in the business of handling media buying & implementation needs in the mainstream media (Print, TV, Radio, Outdoor and Video).

ii. The Operational Creditor and Corporate Debtor entered into business dealings pursuant to an Agreement dated 15.09.2023, vide which the Operational Creditor undertook to provide media agency services to the Corporate Debtor. Clause 5 of the Agreement which provides for the "PAYMENT TERMS", reads as follows:

"Invoices will be raised by the FIRST PARTY a week before the release of the respective Advertisement to the SECOND PARTY and the SECOND PARTY shall pay the full invoice amount within 60 days from the date of release of the media campaign. "

iii. The Operational Creditor on 30.01.2023 duly communicated that pursuant to the meeting conducted between the Operational Creditor and the CFO of the Corporate Debtor, the requisite payments were required to be advanced by the Corporate Debtor. Vide the said email it was highlighted that the payments required to be made to media houses were time barred and therefore the Corporate Debtor was required to advance a sum of Rs. 5.10 Crores.

iv. The Corporate Debtor was also duly apprised of the fact that the Operational Creditor had been receiving regular reminders from the media houses it had entered into business transacts to clear the payments with immediate effect. Further