# In the matter of Darjeeling Organic Tea Estates Private Limited

> NCLT judgment dated 2023-12-11. Citation: TCN-2023-NCLT-00310. This case involves an application by ODAT GmbH, a German company and financial creditor, under…

- **Court:** NCLT
- **Order date:** 11 Dec 2023
- **Citation:** TCN-2023-NCLT-00310
- **Category:** IBC
- **Source page:** https://caseease.in/cases/ibc/nclt-division-bench-court-i-chenn/darjeeling-organic-tea-estates-private-limited-edb10cb6

## Summary

### Background

This case involves an application by ODAT GmbH, a German company and financial creditor, under Section 60(5) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, read with Rule 11 of the National Company Law Tribunal Rules, 2016. ODAT sought to be included in the Committee of Creditors (CoC) of Darjeeling Organic Tea Estates Private Limited (Corporate Debtor) with full voting rights. The Resolution Professional (RP) had deemed ODAT a related party, denying them voting rights. ODAT disputes this classification, arguing that merely having a common director, Mr. Rembert Biemond, does not make them a related party under Section 5(24) of the I&B Code. The Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) was initiated against the Corporate Debtor on 28.10.2022.

## Facts

ODAT GmbH, a German company, provided financial assistance to Darjeeling Organic Tea Estates Private Limited (Corporate Debtor) between 2014 and 2018. The Corporate Debtor became financially unviable, leading to the initiation of Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) on 28.10.2022. ODAT filed a claim of Euros 1,77,40,328 (equivalent to INR 158,97,81,751) with the RP on 20.09.2023. The RP determined that ODAT was a related party to the Corporate Debtor and denied them voting rights in the Committee of Creditors (CoC). Mr. Rembert Biemond is a director in both ODAT and the Corporate Debtor. The RP based the 'related party' classification on this common directorship and Mr. Biemond's involvement in the Corporate Debtor's management. ODAT disputes being a related

…

## Issues and analysis

### Issue 1: Whether ODAT GmbH is to be treated as a 'related party' to the Corporate Debtor in terms of Section …

**Ratio:** The legal principle applied is the interpretation of Section 5(24) of the Insolvency and

…

**Reasoning:** The court reasoned that Mr. Rembert Biemond's role as Managing Director of ODAT and his

…

**Interpretation:** The court interpreted Section 5(24) broadly to include situations where a

…

**Application:** The court applied the ratio to the specific facts of the case, finding that Mr.

…

## Parties

- **Judges:** BIDISHA BA…; D. Ar…
- **Appellants:** ODAT…
- **Respondents:** M/s. Darjeeling…; CA. Santanu…

## Timeline

- **2014-01-01 — Financial Ass…**: ODAT GmbH provided financial assistance to Darjeeling Organic Tea Estates Private Limited…
- **2022-10-28 — CIRP Init…**: Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) was initiated against Darjeeling Organic…

## Legal provisions

- [Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, Section 60(5) — Adjudicating Authority for corporate persons](https://caseease.in/legal-provisions/insolvency-and-bankruptcy-code-2016/section-60)

---

This is a preview. The full structured summary, issues, precedents and source judgment are available on CaseEase - Legal Intelligence Simplified: https://caseease.in/cases/ibc/nclt-division-bench-court-i-chenn/darjeeling-organic-tea-estates-private-limited-edb10cb6