NCLT Lawyer in Delhi

NCLT lawyers in Delhi: what we do

We act in proceedings before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) at New Delhi, for creditors starting an insolvency case and for companies, directors, guarantors and shareholders on the other side of one.

We are a litigation firm. We draft and argue petitions, replies, interlocutory applications and appeals. We do not act as insolvency professionals, we do not incorporate companies and we do not handle filings with the Registrar of Companies.

The NCLT bench that hears a corporate insolvency case is the one with jurisdiction over the place where the company’s registered office is situated, under Section 60 of the Code. For a company registered in Delhi, that is a New Delhi bench. A company registered elsewhere is heard by another bench, and we tell you at the first call whether your matter is one we can take.

The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code: three ways in

The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 lets a creditor or the company itself start a corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) against a company or a limited liability partnership that has defaulted. It does not apply to a sole proprietor or an ordinary partnership firm. Since 24 March 2020 the minimum default is one crore rupees.

Section 7: financial creditors

A financial creditor is one whose debt was disbursed against the time value of money, typically a bank, a non-banking finance company or a lender under a loan agreement. Since 2018 home buyers in a real estate project are also financial creditors. Since 2020 they must apply together, at least 100 allottees of the same project or one-tenth of them, whichever is less. The application is filed in Form 1 with evidence of the debt and the default and the name of a proposed interim resolution professional.

Sections 8 and 9: operational creditors

An operational creditor is owed for goods supplied, services rendered or employment, or for certain government dues. Suppliers, contractors, and employees all fall here. The route has two steps:

1. A demand notice under Section 8 in Form 3, or a copy of the unpaid invoice in Form 4, delivered to the company.
2. An application under Section 9 in Form 5, which can be filed only after ten days from delivery of the notice have passed without payment and without the company raising a dispute.

The tribunal must reject a Section 9 application if the company shows a pre-existing dispute, one that existed before the notice was received. In Mobilox Innovations v. Kirusa Software (2017) the Supreme Court held that the tribunal does not try the dispute. It asks only whether there is a plausible contention that needs further investigation, as opposed to a patently feeble argument or an unsupported assertion. Our post on the Section 9 demand notice for operational creditors walks through the notice and the reply period in detail.

Employees can file individually or jointly, and in JK Jute Mill Mazdoor Morcha v. Juggilal Kamlapat Jute Mills (2019) the Supreme Court allowed a registered trade union to file as an operational creditor for its members.

Section 10: the company itself

A company in default can apply for its own insolvency in Form 6, with its books of account and a resolution of its shareholders or partners. Directors sometimes consider this to bring all creditors into one process. It is a serious step, since the board loses control once the case is admitted, and we discuss the alternatives first.

From application to resolution: how a case moves

1. First consultation. We read the loan or supply papers, the ledger, the correspondence and any record of dispute, and check the default amount, the date of default and limitation.
2. Demand notice, for an operational creditor, and a watch on the ten-day period.
3. Application, in the prescribed form with the filing fee, the documents of debt and default, and the consent of the proposed interim resolution professional.
4. Admission hearing. The company is given notice and may object. Under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Act, 2026, the tribunal must admit a Section 7 application once default and completeness are shown, and must record reasons if it takes longer than fourteen days on any application. In practice hearings often take longer.
5. Moratorium and the interim resolution professional. On admission the tribunal declares a moratorium under Section 14 and appoints an interim resolution professional, who makes a public announcement calling for claims.
6. Claims and the committee of creditors. Creditors file their claims within the time set in the announcement. The committee of creditors is made up of financial creditors. Operational creditors do not vote, but those with a large enough share of the debt may attend.
7. Resolution plans. The resolution professional invites plans. Persons disqualified by Section 29A cannot submit one. The committee approves a plan by at least 66 percent of its voting share, and the tribunal then decides whether to approve it under Section 31.
8. Liquidation, under Section 33, if no plan is approved within the time allowed.

What the moratorium stops

Under Section 14 the moratorium bars new suits and the continuation of pending suits against the company, the execution of decrees and arbitral awards, transfer of its assets, enforcement of security and recovery of property by an owner or lessor. In P. Mohanraj v. Shah Brothers Ispat (2021) the Supreme Court held that it also covers cheque bounce proceedings against the company, though not against its directors. The moratorium does not protect personal guarantors.

Withdrawal and settlement

A settlement after admission needs Section 12A and the approval of 90 percent of the voting share of the committee of creditors. As substituted by the 2026 amendment, the section allows withdrawal only after the committee is constituted and before the first invitation for resolution plans. A creditor that has filed should keep this in mind before it files, and a company served with a petition should consider settlement before the case is admitted.

Watch the claim deadlines

Once a resolution plan is approved, claims not made in the process are generally extinguished. The Supreme Court so held in Ghanashyam Mishra and Sons v. Edelweiss Asset Reconstruction (2021). A creditor who learns of an admitted case late should file its claim at once.

Personal guarantors of companies

Promoters and directors who stood as personal guarantors for a company’s loans are covered by Part III of the Code, and the NCLT hears those cases. A creditor applies under Section 95, an interim moratorium follows on the filing, and a resolution professional examines the debt and reports before the tribunal decides.

In Lalit Kumar Jain v. Union of India (2021) the Supreme Court upheld the notification bringing these provisions into force and held that a resolution plan for the company does not by itself discharge the guarantor. In Dilip B. Jiwrajka v. Union of India (2023) it upheld Sections 95 to 100 and held that no adjudication takes place before the resolution professional’s report, and that the tribunal must observe natural justice when it decides. A guarantor served with such an application should take advice quickly.

Appeals to the NCLAT and the Supreme Court

An order of the NCLT in an insolvency case can be appealed to the NCLAT under Section 61 within 30 days, which the appellate tribunal may extend by up to 15 days for sufficient cause, and no further. Since the 2026 amendment the NCLAT is directed to decide appeals within three months of receipt, though in practice many take longer. Time can run from the date of pronouncement of the order, so an appeal should be prepared without waiting for a certified copy.

A further appeal on a question of law lies to the Supreme Court under Section 62 within 45 days, extendable by 15 days. Filings in the Supreme Court go through an Advocate-on-Record, an advocate registered with that Court to file cases there. We explain at the first meeting how the filing will be made. Our page on Supreme Court matters covers that court’s procedure.

Appeals from NCLT orders under the Companies Act, 2013 also lie to the NCLAT, under Section 421 of that Act.

Company-law petitions before the NCLT

Oppression and mismanagement

A member who complains that the company’s affairs are being conducted in a manner oppressive to members or prejudicial to the company may petition under Section 241 of the Companies Act, 2013. Section 242 gives the tribunal wide powers: regulating the company’s conduct, ordering the purchase of shares, setting aside transactions and removing directors.

Section 244 limits who may file. In a company with share capital, the petitioners must number at least 100 members or one-tenth of the total members, whichever is less, or hold at least one-tenth of the issued share capital, with calls paid. In a company without share capital, at least one-fifth of the members must join. The tribunal may waive these requirements, which matters most in small family companies.

Other company petitions

We also act in contested petitions for rectification of the register of members under Section 59, restoration of a struck-off company’s name under Section 252, and winding up by the tribunal under Section 271, and for creditors or shareholders objecting to a scheme of arrangement.

Who we act for

• Financial creditors, in Section 7 applications and claims within a running CIRP.
• Operational creditors: suppliers, contractors, service providers, employees and workmen.
• Companies, directors and promoters, answering a petition, settling before admission or appealing.
• Personal guarantors, facing an application under Part III.
• Shareholders, in oppression and mismanagement and other company petitions.

Where a claim is against a bank’s borrower under the recovery laws, our page on Debt Recovery Tribunal matters explains that separate forum. Where the debt is below one crore rupees or genuinely disputed, a commercial suit or arbitration is usually the better route.

Realistic timelines

• Demand notice to Section 9 filing: at least ten days after delivery, usually a few weeks with preparation.
• Filing to admission or rejection: commonly a few weeks to several months.
• Admission to an approved resolution plan: the Code’s outer limit is 330 days, but many cases take longer.
• Appeal to the NCLAT: commonly some months.
• Oppression and mismanagement petition: commonly one to a few years if contested to final order.

These are ranges, not promises. They depend on the bench’s workload, objections from the other side and whether further appeals are filed.

What to bring

Bring the loan or supply agreement, purchase orders, invoices, delivery or service records, ledger statements, bank statements showing payments and defaults, the demand notice and any reply, emails and messages about the debt or any dispute, and the company’s master data from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs portal. A guarantor should bring the document under which they stood as guarantor and any notice received. A shareholder should bring share certificates, the articles of association and the board and general meeting records available.

Talk to us

The first step is a consultation. Call 99115 44811 or write to manujalawyers@gmail.com with a short note on the company, the amount and the dates. Consultations are arranged in advance and can be by phone or video.

This page gives general information about the law as it stands and is not advice on your particular case. No lawyer can guarantee the admission of a petition or any particular recovery, and every matter turns on its own facts.