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TMI Blog2022 (9) TMI 170X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... eme Court of India wherein, exclusion was granted in Cognizance for extension of limitation, In [ 2021 (3) TMI 497 - SC ORDER ] and the same was followed by the Hon ble National Company Law Appellate Tribunal, Delhi in Suo-Moto-Competition Appeal [ 2020 (6) TMI 495 - NATIONAL COMPANY LAW APPELLATE TRIBUNAL, NEW DELHI ] for the period from 15.03.2020 till 14.03.2021 - the delay of 84 days in filing the Section 9 Petition is condoned, following the said decision. Reliance placed in the Judgment of Hon ble NCLAT in the matter of Jumbo Paper Products V. Hansraj Agrofresh Pvt. Ltd. [ 2021 (10) TMI 1279 - NATIONAL COMPANY LAW APPELLATE TRIBUNAL, NEW DELHI ] wherein it was held that statute/law can be applied retrospectively only if explicit provi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... n Process under the provisions of the Code. 3. The details of transactions leading to the filing of this petition as averred by the petitioner are as follows: a. The Operational creditor herein rendered transport service to the Corporate Debtor. b. The Operational Creditor submitted that there had been series of 49 invoices generated in favour of the Corporate Debtor. c. The Operational Creditor sent a Demand Notice dated 28.10.2021 demanding payment of an unpaid operational debt i.e. Rs. 18,16,649/- as per provisions under Rule 5 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy (Application to Adjudicating Authority) Rules, 2016. 4. The Corporate Debtor has not filed its reply before this Adjudicating Authority. 5. Before adjudicating the main ma ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 8,98,158/-. from the Corporate Debtor as evident in the Part IV of Form 5 and the same has been filed before this Tribunal on 20.02.2021. With reference to the Judgment of Hon'ble NCLAT in the matter of Jumbo Paper Products V. Hansraj Agrofresh Pvt. Ltd. (Company Appeal (AT) (Ins) No. 813 of 2021) wherein it was held that an)'' statute/law can be applied retrospectively only if explicit provision regarding its retrospective application is made in the statute. It is seen that notification of MCA dated 24.3.2020 makes it unambiguously clear that the threshold limit to be considered for filing application under section 7 or 9 will be Rs. 1 crore. This threshold limit will be applicable for application filed u/s. 7 or 9 on or after ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... .3.2020. The Appellate Tribunal went on to hold that the threshold limit will be applicable for applications filed under Section 7 or Section 9 on or after 24.3.2020, even if the debt is on a date earlier than 24.3.2020. The above view of the Tribunal is in consonance with the decision of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Manish Kumar (supra). 25. Even otherwise, the Tribunal has in my opinion, gone wrong in its interpretation of Section 4 of the Act. Section 4, after amendment on 24.3.2020 clearly says that Part II of the IBC shall apply to matters relating to the insolvency and liquidation of corporate debtors where the minimum amount of default is Rs. 1 Crore. As per Section 3(12) of the IBC, "default" means non-payment of debt ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e default is less than Rs. 1 Crore. By application of Section 10A, even in cases where the default is more than Rs. 1 Crore, an application cannot be filed for a period of six months from 24.3.2020. There can be no other understanding of the statutory provisions, as there is no ambiguity in the language. It is well settled that the grammatical and ordinary sense of the words of the Statute should he adhered to, unless that would lead to absurdity, or some repugnance or inconsistency with the rest of the provisions of the statute. In the words of Viscount Simon L.C. "The golden rule is that the words of a statute must prima facie be given their ordinary meaning.... Judges are not called upon to apply their opinions of sound policy so as ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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