# In the matter of Sahara Hospitality Limited

> NCLT judgment dated 2023-11-02. Citation: TCN-2023-NCLT-00862. The case involves an application filed by Sh. Ramesh Naidu, an Operational Creditor, against…

- **Court:** NCLT
- **Order date:** 2 Nov 2023
- **Citation:** TCN-2023-NCLT-00862
- **Category:** IBC
- **Source page:** https://caseease.in/cases/ibc/nclt-division-bench-court-i-chenn/sahara-hospitality-limited-fffd56fa

## Summary

### Background

The case involves an application filed by Sh. Ramesh Naidu, an Operational Creditor, against Sahara Hospitality Limited, the Corporate Debtor, under Section 9 of the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code, 2016, seeking initiation of the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP). The Operational Creditor, proprietor of Greencare, claimed an outstanding amount of Rs. 1,49,19,588/- inclusive of interest at 18% p.a. from 01.04.2018, for maintenance work of fish tanks. The Corporate Debtor contested the claim, citing insufficiency in the services provided by the Operational Creditor and a pre-existing dispute.

## Facts

Sh. Ramesh Naidu, the Operational Creditor and proprietor of Greencare, filed an application against Sahara Hospitality Limited, the Corporate Debtor, under Section 9 of the I&B Code, seeking initiation of CIRP. The claim was for Rs. 1,49,19,588/- inclusive of interest, for maintenance work of fish tanks. A work order was issued on 2015-03-09. The Operational Creditor raised several invoices between 2017-06-30 and 2018-03-31, totaling Rs. 1,18,83,495/-. The Corporate Debtor claimed insufficiency of services, stating the Operational Creditor failed to maintain a minimum of 500 fishes in the aquarium as per the SOP. The Corporate Debtor engaged another party, Utkarsh Fisheries Limited, after the work contract period with the Operational Creditor. The Corporate Debtor

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## Issues and analysis

### Issue 1: Whether there was a pre-existing dispute between the Operational Creditor and the Corporate Debtor …

**Ratio:** The existence of a pre-existing dispute is a valid ground for rejecting an application

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**Reasoning:** The Corporate Debtor presented evidence of insufficiency in the services provided by the

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**Interpretation:** The term 'pre-existing dispute' is interpreted broadly to include any dispute

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**Application:** In this case, the court found that the Corporate Debtor had raised a genuine

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## Parties

- **Judges:** Reeta K…; Madhu S…
- **Appellants:** Sh. Ramesh…
- **Respondents:** Sahara Hospitality…

## Timeline

- **2015-03-09 — Work Order…**: The Corporate Debtor issued a work order to the Operational Creditor for maintenance work…
- **2017-06-30 — Invoice R…**: The Operational Creditor raised several invoices between 2017-06-30 and 2018-03-31,…

## Legal provisions

- [Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, Section 4 — Application of this Part](https://caseease.in/legal-provisions/insolvency-and-bankruptcy-code-2016/section-4)

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