Authority: National Company Law Tribunal Mumbai Bench-II

Order Date: 16.07.2026

Case Overview

The National Company Law Tribunal Mumbai Bench-II heard a petition filed by Central Bank of India (Financial Creditor) under Section 7 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 against Superfine Metals Private Limited (Corporate Debtor). The application was originally filed on 07.02.2023 and subsequently amended via IA 5435 of 2023, which was allowed on 06.05.2024.

The Financial Creditor claimed a total default amount of ₹58,64,37,327.37, comprising ₹54,27,36,545 in Cash Credit Facility and ₹4,37,00,782.37 in Ad hoc Facility as of 30.09.2023. The dates of default were specified as 10.03.2020 for the Cash Credit Facility and 24.03.2020 for the Ad hoc Facility. The facilities were originally sanctioned in 2013 (Cash Credit) and 2019 (Ad hoc), with the Cash Credit facility enhanced to ₹52,00,00,000 in June 2019 and the Ad hoc facility sanctioned at ₹3,70,00,000 in December 2019.

The Corporate Debtor contested the petition on multiple grounds, primarily arguing that the actual date of default should be considered as 29.11.2020 (when the account was classified as NPA), which would fall within the Section 10A suspension period (25.03.2020 to 25.03.2021) during which insolvency applications were prohibited due to COVID-19. The Corporate Debtor also claimed the petition was incomplete, contained defective documents, and that the company was a going concern and financially sound.

The Tribunal examined three key issues: whether the petition was barred by limitation, whether debt and default were established, and whether Section 10A applied. The Tribunal found that the Financial Creditor provided sufficient evidence including sanction letters, hypothecation agreements, certified statements of accounts, and a demand notice dated 29.06.2022. The Tribunal determined that the default dates of 10.03.2020 and 24.03.2020 were contractually valid and predated the Section 10A period, citing the Supreme Court precedent in Laxmi Pat Surana v. Union Bank of India that the date of default (not NPA classification date) is determinative.

Final Outcome

The petition was admitted, and Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) was initiated against Superfine Metals Private Limited. Mrs. Megha Agrawal (Registration No. IBBI/IPA-001/IP-P01456/2018-2019/12272) was appointed as Interim Resolution Professional. A moratorium was declared under Section 14 of the Code with immediate effect, prohibiting legal proceedings, asset transfers, security enforcement, and property recovery against the corporate debtor. The Financial Creditor was directed to deposit ₹3,00,000 with the IRP for initial CIRP costs, which would be treated as interim finance.

Topics: Corporate Insolvency, Banking Debt Recovery, NCLT Proceedings