Authority: National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) Principal Bench, New Delhi

Order Date: 07 September 2026

Case Overview

This is an appeal (Comp. App. (AT) (Ins) No. 1660 of 2026) filed by Navjeet Singh Gadhoke, an ex-Director and shareholder of the Corporate Debtor (CD), Roadway Solutions India Infra Limited. The appeal is against an order from a lower bench that admitted the company into the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) based on a petition filed by an operational creditor (OC). The appellant, representing the CD, argued that the company is financially robust and actively engaged in constructing and maintaining national highway projects across India, having successfully completed over 1,000 kilometres of highways. The company employs approximately 2,000 permanent staff and 5,000 contractual workers, supporting around 7,000 families. The core of the appellant's argument is the existence of a genuine pre-existing dispute with the operational creditor. The appellant claims that advance payments were made for the supply of sand and stones based on the advice of a local representative, Mr. D.P. Sehgal, but the deliveries were never made. It is alleged that with Mr. Sehgal's help, the operational creditor showed false transactions. Furthermore, cheques issued for sand and stone were allegedly misused and presented as payment for steel supplies. The appellant emphasized that the CD is not in default with any other financial creditors. To demonstrate bona fides and protect the company's reputation, the appellant offered to deposit the entire claimed amount of Rs. 2,35,82,157.67 to secure a stay on the CIRP order.

Final Outcome

The NCLAT bench, comprising Justice Mohammad Faiz Alam Khan (Member-Judicial) and Naresh Salecha (Member-Technical), granted an interim stay on the operation of the impugned order admitting the company into CIRP. The stay is conditional upon the appellant depositing a Fixed Deposit Receipt (FDR) for the full amount of Rs. 2,35,82,157.67 in favour of the Registrar of the NCLAT by September 14, 2026. The respondents (the Interim Resolution Professional and the Operational Creditor) were granted two weeks to file their reply, and the appellant was given one subsequent week to file a rejoinder. The appeal was listed for the next hearing on October 8, 2026.

Topics: Insolvency Appeal, Interim Stay, Operational Debt Dispute