Dispute Resolution

On 9 June 2020, the Mumbai Bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) passed an order admitting a petition for the initiation of the corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) under Section 9 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC) in the matter of Agrocorp International Private (PTE) Limited v National Steel and Agro Industries Limited (CP(IB) No. 798/MB/C-IV/2019).

A single-judge bench of the Hon’ble High Court of Delhi (High Court), in its judgment, MEP Infrastructure Developers Limited v South Delhi Municipal Corporation & Ors. dated 12 June 2020, held that a force majeure clause instantly comes into effect once it has been acknowledged by the other party. Accordingly, in such circumstances, the need to explicitly invoke the force majeure clause does not arise.

In a significant judgment dated 9 June 2020 titled ‘Indus Biotech Private Limited v.

A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court (SC), vide its judgment dated 5 June 2020 passed in Shakti Bhog Food Industries Limited v The Central Bank of India & Anr (Civil Appeal No. 2514 of 2020) (SC Judgment), held that accrual of right to sue under Article 113 of the Schedule of the Limitation Act, 1963 (the Act) did not necessarily arise when the right to sue first accrued but rather, when there was a clear and unequivocal threat of infringement of rights.

As part of the Government’s ongoing efforts to combat the economic fallout of the COVID-19 crisis, the Union Finance Minister in a press conference dated 24 March 2020 announced an increase in the threshold for invoking the corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC).