Authority: National Company Law Tribunal, Kolkata Bench

Order Date: 09.06.2026

Case Overview

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Kolkata Bench, comprising Smt. Bidisha Banerjee (Member Judicial) and Cmde Siddharth Mishra (Member Technical), heard Company Petition (IB) No. 287/KB/2024 filed by Punjab National Bank (Financial Creditor) under Section 7 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 against M/s Siddhanth Vedant Cold Storage Private Limited (Corporate Debtor).

The petition sought initiation of Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) against the Corporate Debtor for defaulting on credit facilities totaling ₹15.74 crores, with an outstanding amount of ₹26,92,44,579.25 (including interest up to 31.03.2024). The Financial Creditor claimed default occurred on 01.10.2019 when the Corporate Debtor failed to repay ₹38.08 lakhs as per the sanction letter dated 20.03.2019.

The Corporate Debtor contested the petition on multiple grounds: (1) that the actual date of default was 31.03.2020 as per the NeSL report, making it hit by Section 10A of IBC (which prohibits applications for defaults during 25.03.2020 to 24.03.2021); (2) that the Calcutta High Court had already quashed the NPA classification vide order dated 05.08.2025 in WPA 9820 of 2021; and (3) that PNB had failed to consider restructuring proposals as mandated by RBI circulars dated 01.01.2019 and 27.03.2020 for MSME units engaged in agriculture, food processing and cold storage.

The tribunal examined two primary issues: (i) whether the date of default was 01.10.2019 (as claimed by PNB) or 31.03.2020 (as per NeSL report), and (ii) whether the petition was maintainable within the limitation period.

On the first issue, the tribunal relied on the Asset Reconstruction Company (India) Ltd. v. Manyata Developers Pvt. Ltd. case to hold that NeSL reports are not conclusive proof of default date. Based on the sanction letter and repayment schedule, the tribunal established the default date as 01.10.2019, making the debt and default established under Sections 5(8) and 3(12) of IBC. The tribunal also found the petition within limitation considering the Supreme Court's exclusion of period from 15.03.2020 to 28.02.2022 for limitation purposes.

However, on maintainability, the tribunal noted the Calcutta High Court's order dated 05.08.2025 which directed PNB to "consider the petitioners' proposal for restructuring their MSME accounts... prior to initiating or continuing any recovery proceedings against the petitioners before any forum." The tribunal found no evidence that PNB had complied with this directive before filing the present petition, thus violating the High Court's clear embargo.

Final Outcome

The NCLT dismissed Company Petition (IB) No. 287/KB/2024, primarily on the ground that Punjab National Bank failed to comply with the Calcutta High Court's directive to consider restructuring proposals before initiating recovery proceedings. The dismissal follows similar outcomes in related petitions against other group companies (C.P. No. 274/KB/2024 and C.P. (IB) No. 318/KB/2024).

  • Topics: Insolvency Proceedings, MSME Restructuring, Court Compliance