Authority: National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Ahmedabad Bench - Court II

Order Date: 28 April 2026 (Main Order), 15 June 2026 (Corrigendum Order)

Case Overview

This proceeding involves an application filed under Section 7 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 by Aphelion Finance Private Limited (Financial Creditor) against Osia Hyper Retail Limited (Corporate Debtor).

The financial debt arose from supply chain financing arrangements where Aphelion Finance, an NBFC, extended credit facilities totaling ₹7,50,00,000 to three vendors of Osia Hyper Retail: Paras Trading Corporation, Vinayak Trading Corporation, and VR Food. The actual amount disbursed was ₹7,35,07,922 on 4 September 2024. Osia Hyper Retail acted as a guarantor for these facilities through multiple security instruments including a corporate guarantee agreement dated 10 August 2023, personal guarantees from directors Dhirendra Chopra and Kavita Chopra, promissory notes, and undated blank cheques.

The Corporate Debtor disputed the application on several grounds: inconsistency in default dates mentioned across documents (05.10.2024 in Form-1, 06.10.2024 in Form-C, and 31.10.2024 in legal notice); alleged lack of authorization for signatory Archna Nagrani; claim that the sanction letter validity period (14.08.2023 to 13.08.2024) had expired before disbursement; and arguments that the corporate guarantee was given to GACPL, not directly to the applicant financial creditor. The Corporate Debtor also claimed solvency, highlighting payment of ₹2.30 crore during proceedings and being a listed company with 33 retail stores across India.

The Financial Creditor maintained that the documentation sufficiently established the financial debt and default, noting that the Corporate Debtor had made partial payments totaling ₹2.81 crore in March 2025, reducing the outstanding amount to ₹6,72,12,850 as of 6 May 2025. The parties attempted settlement with the Corporate Debtor agreeing to repay ₹6,81,92,343, but this agreement was breached.

The Tribunal observed that the arrangement constituted invoice financing where the Corporate Debtor acted as an "anchor" or guarantor. Despite technical objections, the documentation connected the financial creditor to the corporate debtor through the guarantee structure. The admitted partial payments by the Corporate Debtor demonstrated acknowledgment of liability.

Final Outcome

The NCLT admitted the application and initiated Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) against Osia Hyper Retail Limited. The Tribunal appointed NPV Insolvency Professionals Private Limited (IBBI/IPE-0040/IPA-2/2022-2023/50021) as the Interim Resolution Professional. A moratorium under Section 14 of the IBC was declared, prohibiting various actions against the Corporate Debtor. The Financial Creditor was directed to deposit ₹2,00,000 with the IRP to meet initial expenses, subject to subsequent adjustment by the Committee of Creditors.

A separate corrigendum order dated 15 June 2026 rectified the IRP appointment, clarifying that the appointment was of the IPE entity (NPV Insolvency Professionals Private Limited) rather than the individual director mentioned in the original order.

Topics: Corporate Insolvency, Guarantee Enforcement, NCLT Proceedings