Non Impleadment Of Owner As Party By Liquidator In Application U/S 19 Of IBC Not Malafide If Ownership Was Uncertain: NCLAT

The NCLAT New Delhi bench of Justice Ashok Bhushan, Mr. Arun Baroka and Barun Mitra has held that non impleadment of the owner in application under section 19 of the code filed by the liquidator due to the uncertainty over the ownership of the premises cannot be termed malafide. However, on 01.07.2020, the liquidator filed Section 19 application under IBC seeking directions of the Adjudicating Authority for the impleaded parties to extend co-operation in allowing access to the liquidator to the office premises of the Corporate Debtor. The Adjudicating Authority, on 17.07.2020, after considering the Section 19 application filed by the liquidator directed the impleaded parties and/or the owner of the premises, whosoever was in the possession of the keys of the office premises to handover the keys to the Liquidator. In our considered opinion, therefore, the Adjudicating Authority did not err in giving the benefit of doubt to the liquidator in having made the aforesaid omission.” It also observed that It would also not be correct to hold that the liquidator had fool-proof information about the interest of the Appellant with regard to ownership of the office premises of the Corporate Debtor at the time of filing the contempt application. The tribunal also noted that moreover, the inclusion of the Appellant in the contempt application done by the liquidator was because the Adjudicating Authority had passed orders in the Section 19 application directing that the owner of the premises or whosoever is in possession of the keys of the office premises shall handover the keys to the liquidator immediately.