13070/2023 Page 1 of 7 $~17 * IN THE HIGH…
Impugned recovery letters dated 04.08.2023 and 03.08.2023 quashed; petition allowed with pending applications disposed.
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$~17
Date of Decision: 06.05.2026
IN THE MATTER OF:
TECHNOPAK ADVISORS PVT. LTD. .....Petitioner Through: Mr. Sumit K Batra, Mr. Manish Khurana, Ms. Priyanka Jindal, Mr. Parth Sharma, Advocates.
versus NABARD CONSULTANCY SERVICES PRIVATE LIMITED & ANR. .....Respondents Through: Mr. Sandeep Kumar Mahapatra, CGSC with Ms. Mrinmayee Sahu, Mr. Tribhuvan, Mr. Abhimanyu and Ms. Anushka Sarraf, Advocates for R-1. Ms. Shiva Lakshmi (SPC) with Mr. Pravar Dennison and Ms. Urvi Tripathi, Advocates for UOI.
CORAM:
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE PURUSHAINDRA KUMAR KAURAV
J U D G E M E N T
PURUSHAINDRA KUMAR KAURAV, J. (ORAL)
1. The instant petition is for the following reliefs:
“(a) Issue an appropriate writ/order or direction to the Respondents set aside/ quash the proceedings for recovery of Rs.2,46,78,328/- initiated by the Respondents vide their impugned letters dated 04.08.2023 and 03.08.2023 respectively, against the Petitioner company as the same concerns the time period prior to approval of the Resolution Plan by the National Company Law Tribunal under the provisions of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016;
(b) Issue an appropriate writ/order or direction to Respondent No.l & 2 to
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not to initiate any kind of proceedings for the time period prior to approval of Resolution Plan by the NCLT on 08.02.2021; (c) Pass any such appropriate order(s) as this Hon’ble Court may deem fit in the facts and circumstances of the present case .”
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submissions and contend that the decision in Ghanashyam Mishra is distinguishable on facts, and therefore inapplicable to the present case. They contend that in the said decision, the approved resolution plans had been filed by bona-fide third party resolution applicants, whereas in the instant case, the successful resolution applicant was a promoter/director of the petitioner-company prior to the CIRP proceedings. Therefore, according to them, the entire process is marred by lack of bona-fides .
“ 102. In the result, we answer the questions framed by us as under:
102.1. That once a resolution plan is duly approved by the adjudicating authority under sub-section (1) of Section 31, the claims as provided in the resolution plan shall stand frozen and will be binding on the corporate debtor and its employees, members, creditors, including the Central
1 2021 9 SCC 657
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Government, any State Government or any local authority, guarantors and other stakeholders. On the date of approval of resolution plan by the adjudicating authority, all such claims, which are not a part of resolution plan, shall stand extinguished and no person will be entitled to initiate or continue any proceedings in respect to a claim, which is not part of the resolution plan.
102.2. The 2019 Amendment to Section 31 of the I&B Code is clarificatory and declaratory in nature and therefore will be effective from the date on which the I&B Code has come into effect.
102.3. Consequently all the dues including the statutory dues owed to the Central Government, any Stale Government or any local authority, if not part of the resolution plan, shall stand extinguished and no proceedings in respect of such dues for the period prior to the date on which the adjudicating authority grants its approval under Section 31 could be continued.”
(Emphasis supplied)
“ 50. In the Impugned Arbitral Award, the learned arbitrator has sought to distinguish the present case from the settled jurisprudence relating to the “clean slate doctrine” by observing that the said principle, as evolved by the Supreme Court, is primarily intended to protect a bona fide third-party resolution applicant who takes over the corporate debtor.
2 2026 SCC OnLine Del 2900
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It has been further reasoned that where the resolution process does not involve the induction of an unrelated third party, but instead results in restructuring under the existing promoter or management, the rationale underlying the clean slate doctrine would not strictly apply. On this basis, the learned arbitrator proceeded to distinguish, and effectively disregard, the binding precedents of the Supreme Court relied upon by the Claimant in support of the clean slate principle.
51. Again, with utmost respect to the learned arbitrator, this Court is unable to agree with the aforesaid distinction. Such a differentiation between third-party resolution applicants and existing promoters finds no basis in the statutory framework of the IBC, nor is it supported by the jurisprudence laid down by the Supreme Court.
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53. This contention, though prima facie appealing, proceeds on a fundamentally erroneous understanding of the statutory scheme of the IBC. The clean slate doctrine does not emanate merely from considerations of commercial fairness towards a new or incoming management. Rather, it flows directly from the statutory mandate embodied in Section 31 of the IBC, which accords binding force and finality to a resolution Plan once it is approved by the learned adjudicating authority. The provision does not create, either expressly or by necessary implication, any distinction between cases where the corporate debtor is taken over by a third-party resolution applicant and those where restructuring takes place under the aegis of the existing promoter or management. The binding nature of the resolution Plan attaches to the corporate debtor as a juristic entity, and not to the identity of the person who ultimately assumes control over its management.
54. Put differently, the legislative design of Section 31 of the IBC is not predicated upon affording protection to a particular category of resolution applicants, but upon ensuring certainty, finality, and institutional integrity within the insolvency resolution framework. Once a resolution Plan is approved, it becomes binding upon the corporate debtor and all its stakeholders, including creditors, employees, and members. The legal consequence of such approval is that the corporate debtor emerges from the CIRP with its liabilities conclusively determined in terms of the resolution Plan. The IBC, therefore, operates on the principle of continuity of the corporate personality, rather than on the identity of the management controlling that personality at any given point in time.
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59. The Respondent's attempt to circumvent this statutory finality by contending that the clean slate doctrine is inapplicable where the
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corporate debtor continues under the stewardship of its existing promoter is, therefore, wholly misplaced. The doctrine does not turn upon the identity of the resolution applicant but upon the binding and conclusive effect of the resolution Plan on the corporate debtor. To accept the Respondent's contention would enable creditors to revive their claims through collateral proceedings merely by pointing to the identity of the post-resolution management. Such an interpretation, unless expressly provided by law, would defeat the legislative intent underlying Section 31 of IBC and would destabilize the insolvency regime by depriving it of certainty and closure.
60. Viewed in this light, the Respondent's contention that the clean slate doctrine is inapplicable in the present case on account of the resolution Plan having been implemented by the existing promoter cannot be sustained. The statutory consequences of the approval of a resolution Plan remain uniform and unqualified, irrespective of the identity of the resolution applicant. Once the resolution Plan has been approved and has attained finality within the framework of the IBC, the liabilities of the corporate debtor stand conclusively determined. The Respondent cannot, therefore, be permitted to resurrect its claims through arbitral counterclaims, which in effect seek to reopen issues that have already been settled within the insolvency resolution process”
“ 21. The second question is whether the delay in the filing of claim by the
3 (2023) 10 SCC 718
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appellant ought to have been condoned by Respondent 1. The IBC is a time bound process. There are, of course, certain circumstances in which the time can be increased. The question is whether the present case would fall within those parameters. The delay on the part of the appellant is of 287 days. The appellant is a commercial entity. That they were litigating against the corporate debtor is an undoubted fact. We believe that the appellant ought to have been vigilant enough in the aforesaid circumstances to find out whether the corporate debtor was undergoing CIRP. The appellant has been deficient on this aspect. The result, of course, is that the appellant to an extent has been left high and dry.
22. Section 15 IBC and Regulation 6 of the IBBI Regulations mandate a public announcement of the CIRP through newspapers. This would constitute deemed knowledge on the appellant. In any case, their plea of not being aware of newspaper pronouncements is not one which should be available to a commercial party.”
(PURUSHAINDRA KUMAR KAURAV) JUDGE
MAY 6, 2026/ aks/amg
4 (2020) 15 SCC 1
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1 issue framed by the court
Whether recovery proceedings for claims predating NCLT approval of the resolution plan can be sustained against a corporate debtor after approval under Section 31(1) IBC.
Colour shows how this judgement treated each authority
Ghanashyam Mishra and Sons Pvt. Ltd. vs. Edelweiss Asset Reconstruction Co. Ltd.Relied on¶8
2021 9 SCC 657 · Who else cites this
MBL Infrastructure Ltd. v. Pradeep Colonisers and Suppliers Pvt. Ltd.Relied on¶10
2026 SCC OnLine Del 2900 · Who else cites this
RPS Infrastructure Ltd. v. Mukul KumarRelied on¶11
(2023) 10 SCC 718 · Who else cites this
Babulal Vardharji Gurjar v. Veer Gurjar Aluminium Industries Private LimitedReferred¶12
(2020) 15 SCC 1 · Who else cites this
2 provisions across 1 enactments
Technopak Advisors Pvt. Ltd.
NABARD Consultancy Services Private Limited
Union of India
Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav
As recorded by the court registry
A petition under Article 226 of the Constitution asking a High Court to issue a writ against the State or a public authority in a civil matter.
Judgements on the same questions, provisions and authorities, from every court
