Case Overview

This Interlocutory Application (IA (IBC)/917/2025) was filed by Chhattisgarh State Power Distribution Co. Limited (Applicant) against Mr. Sumit Binani, the Resolution Professional (RP) of KSK Mahanadi Power Company Ltd (KMPCL or Corporate Debtor). The Applicant sought two primary reliefs: (i) to admit an additional claim of ₹47,59,85,419 against the Corporate Debtor, and (ii) to modify the Resolution Plan approved on 13 February 2025 to include this additional claim.

The dispute originated from a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) dated 18 October 2013 and a supplementary agreement dated 15 June 2015 between the Applicant (after a merger with Chhattisgarh State Power Trading Company Ltd.) and KMPCL. The Applicant had imposed various liquidated damages on KMPCL for delays and short supply of power, totalling ₹57.01 crore by September 2017. During the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP), the Applicant adjusted ₹21.72 crore against dues payable to KMPCL. The RP successfully challenged this adjustment in a previous application (IA No. 672/2021), and the NCLT, vide order dated 09 May 2024, directed the Applicant to refund this amount and granted it liberty to file its claim for consideration under the Resolution Plan.

Pursuant to this, the Applicant filed a claim for ₹1,40,72,61,999 on 29 August 2024. The RP, vide email dated 10 September 2024, admitted only ₹1,08,09,21,355 of this claim, disallowing ₹32,63,40,644. The RP's reasons for the partial admission were based on a different methodology for calculating penalties and shortfall energy figures compared to the Applicant's. The Applicant challenged this partial admission via email on 24 October 2024 but received no further communication from the RP. The Committee of Creditors (CoC) approved the collated list of claims, including the partially admitted amount, in its 54th meeting on 24 October 2024. The Resolution Plan submitted by JSW Energy Limited was subsequently approved by the CoC with a 100% voting share and then by the NCLT on 13 February 2025.

The Applicant had previously filed IA No. 509 of 2025 seeking admission of the disallowed ₹32.63 crore, which was dismissed as withdrawn on 19 March 2025. The present application was filed thereafter, also incorporating a claim of ₹14.96 crore for the CIRP period, which the Applicant alleged was later excluded without communication, bringing the total additional claim sought to ₹47.59 crore.

The Respondent (RP) contended that the application was an abuse of process as it sought to re-agitate the same cause of action. He argued that all claims stood extinguished upon the approval of the Resolution Plan under Section 31(1) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), 2016, as established by the Supreme Court in the Ghanshyam Mishra case. He further stated that Clause 3.3.12(b) of the approved plan provided for the permanent discharge of all claims of operational creditors, including those payable to any government authority.

Final Outcome

The NCLT dismissed the application. On the first prayer, the tribunal held that the law is well-settled that once a resolution plan is approved, all claims not part of it stand extinguished, and no proceedings can be continued in respect of such claims, as per the Supreme Court's judgment in Ghanshyam Mishra & Sons Pvt. Ltd. v. Edelweiss Asset Reconstruction Co. Ltd. The tribunal rejected the Applicant's contention that the approval order was obtained by misrepresentation, finding no material on record to substantiate that the CoC was misled.

On the second prayer seeking modification of the plan, the tribunal held that a CoC-approved resolution plan cannot be modified or reopened after it is submitted to the Adjudicating Authority, citing the Supreme Court's judgment in Ebix Singapore Pvt. Ltd. v. CoC of Educomp Solutions Ltd. & Anr. It stated that an operational creditor stands on no better footing than the resolution applicant in this regard. The plan, having been approved and implemented, could not be reopened.

Topics: Insolvency Resolution, Power Purchase Dispute, NCLT Proceeding