NCLAT orders NCLT to hear afresh insolvency plea by APL Apollo Tubes

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has directed the Bengaluru bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to reconsider APL Apollo Tubes' insolvency plea against Tanisha Scaffolding. The NCLAT criticized the NCLT for dismissing the plea based on a hypothetical interpretation without sufficient evidence. \r

APL Apollo Tubes had filed the plea as an operational creditor, claiming unpaid amounts for goods supplied. The NCLT's rejection was based on the absence of documentary evidence proving the debt was due. However, the NCLAT ruled that such inference was unwarranted without opposing pleadings or evidence from Tanisha Scaffolding. \r

The appellate tribunal emphasized that adjudicating bodies must limit their findings to the evidence and pleadings presented by the parties, not substitute their own interpretations. It quashed the NCLT's order and instructed a fresh hearing, urging Tanisha Scaffolding to file objections or a written statement in response to the insolvency application.