JAI KISHOR GUPTA Vs. BALAJI PAPER AND NEWSPRINT PRIVATE LIMITED

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Court is convened by video conference today.

(2.) This petition under 9 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 read with Rule 6 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy (Application to Adjudicating Authority) Rules,2016 has been filed by Jai Kishore Gupta , proprietor of M/s Lalta Prasad Shaw (hereinafter referred as the Operational Creditor), seeking initiation of corporate insolvency resolution process in respect of Balaji Paper & Newsprint Private Limited, a corporate entity, having its Registered office at 23, Brabourne Road, Kolkata-700001, (hereinafter referred as the Corporate Debtor).

(3.) It is submitted that the Operational Creditor is inter alia engaged in the business of acquiring and selling waste paper and agreed to supply paper to the Corporate Debtor, when it approached the Operational Creditor on mutually agreed terms and conditions. It is submitted that the Corporate Debtor is, inter alia, a trader, manufacturer, supplier and distributor of craft- paper, printing paper etc. For that purpose, the Corporate Debtor purchased the waste paper and with a proposal of purchasing waste paper had approached Operational Creditor. Pursuant to several discussions between the parties, the Operational Creditor started supplying waste paper to the Corporate Debtor and good relationship existed between them till June 2018. However beyond June, 2018 till 26/3/2019. The Operational Creditor in good faith supplied goods to the Corporate Debtor from both its registered office at Kolkata and branch office at Jharkhand but did not receive any payment against the same. It is submitted that during this period waste paper was supplied by the Operational Creditor under several tax invoices and the same were received by the Operational Creditor by issuing a raw material quality analysis report. It is further submitted that during the period between June, 2018 till 26/3/2019, the total outstanding dues against the goods supplied by the Operational Creditor to the Corporate Debtor was Rs.9,63,34,204.00 and after adjustment against the last part payment received by the Operational Creditor from the Corporate Debtor, the outstanding stood at Rs.9,61,35,795.00, which the Corporate Debtor has not cleared in spite of repeated requests by the Operational Creditor. It is submitted that on 17/6/2019, the Operational Creditor issued a Demand Notice in prescribed Form -3 and Form-4 to the Corporate Debtor in terms of the IBC, 2016 for payment of the unpaid operational debt. The said notices were sent through speed post and were duly received by the Corporate Debtor on 19/6/2019. It is submitted that the Corporate Debtor has failed to bring to the notice of the Operational Creditor either the existence of any dispute and record of the pendency of any suit or arbitration proceedings filed before receipt of such notice or invoice in relation to such dispute or the payment of the unpaid operational debt. Hence, the Operational Creditor has filed the present petition for initiation of CIRP process against the Corporate Debtor.