The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), New Delhi, has dismissed an appeal filed by Ramesh Kymal, former chairman and managing director of Siemens Gamesa Renewable Power Pvt. Ltd. Earlier, the Chennai Bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) had rejected an insolvency petition filed by him against the company over alleged non-payment of settlement dues.
Mr. Kymal, who quit on April 30, 2020, had alleged in his petition that the company had not paid him dues of ₹104.11 crore.
The NCLT had rejected the plea citing the insertion of Section 10-A in the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) through an ordinance that provided relief from insolvency proceedings on defaults that happened on or after March 25, 2020.
The NCLAT noted that the bar created was retrospective as the cut-off date had been fixed as March 25, 2020 and the newly inserted Section 10-A had come into effect on June 5, 2020.
It would be absurd to hold that the embargo would extend to an application in respect of such default after March 25, 2020, but before June 5, 2020, i.e. the commencement of the IBC (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020, as the bar operates in respect of default arising on or after March 25, 2020 and not before such date, the appellate tribunal noted.
