# In the matter of United News Of India (IB)-479-ND-2018

> NCLT judgment dated 2018-10-31. Citation: TCN-2018-NCLT-00431. TCA Surveyors and Advisor Pvt. Ltd., an operational creditor, filed a petition under Section 9…

- **Court:** NCLT
- **Order date:** 31 Oct 2018
- **Citation:** TCN-2018-NCLT-00431
- **Category:** IBC
- **Source page:** https://caseease.in/cases/ibc/nclt-chandigarh/united-news-of-india-ib-479-nd-2018-0ab6c0f5

## Summary

### Background

TCA Surveyors and Advisor Pvt. Ltd., an operational creditor, filed a petition under Section 9 of the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code, seeking to initiate Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process against United News of India, the corporate debtor. The operational creditor claimed that the corporate debtor was unable to liquidate its operational debt. The corporate debtor had properties and sought strategic partners to develop them for media centers. Poddar Project Ltd. (PPL) initially expressed interest and deposited Rs. 1 Crore, with a further Rs. 4 Crores required upon signing a definitive agreement. PPL nominated the petitioner to execute the agreement. The petitioner refunded Rs. 1 Crore to PPL and paid Rs. 4 Crores to the corporate debtor. A definitive agreement

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## Facts

TCA Surveyors and Advisor Pvt. Ltd. (Operational Creditor) filed a petition under Section 9 of the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code (IBC) against United News of India (Corporate Debtor) seeking to initiate Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP). The Corporate Debtor owned properties and sought strategic partners for development. Poddar Project Ltd. (PPL) initially showed interest and deposited Rs. 1 Crore, with an additional Rs. 4 Crores due upon signing a definitive agreement. PPL nominated TCA Surveyors to execute the agreement. TCA Surveyors refunded Rs. 1 Crore to PPL and paid Rs. 4 Crores to the Corporate Debtor. A definitive agreement was executed on 29.05.2015. TCA Surveyors claimed to have completed boundary wall construction in Indore and was deploying

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## Issues and analysis

### Issue 1: Whether the transaction between TCA Surveyors and Advisor Pvt. Ltd. and United News of India …

**Ratio:** A transaction qualifies as an 'Operational Debt' under Section 5(21) of the IBC if it

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**Reasoning:** The court reasoned that the petitioner's payment of Rs. 5 Crores was 'seed money' for

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**Interpretation:** The court interpreted Section 5(21) of the IBC to mean that an operational debt

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**Application:** The court applied the ratio to the facts by determining that the payment was

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## Parties

- **Judges:** Ina Mal…; DeepaKr…
- **Appellants:** TCA Surveyors and…
- **Respondents:** United News of…
- **Advocates:** Prashanto Chandra…; Avinav S…; +3 more

## Timeline

- **2015-05-29 — Definitive Agreement…**: A definitive agreement was executed between TCA Surveyors and Advisor Pvt. Ltd. and…
- **2018-03-21 — Demand Notice…**: TCA Surveyors and Advisor Pvt. Ltd. issued a demand notice to United News of India under…

## Legal provisions

- [Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, Section 9 — Application for initiation of corporate insolvency…](https://caseease.in/legal-provisions/insolvency-and-bankruptcy-code-2016/section-9)

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