# In the matter of Deepak Bhandari vs. Vivek Kumar Arora & Ors. CIVIL APPEAL NO. 1788 OF 2021

> SC judgment dated 2021-12-17. Citation: TCN-2021-SC-00001. The appeal was filed against an order by the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), which…

- **Court:** SC
- **Order date:** 17 Dec 2021
- **Citation:** TCN-2021-SC-00001
- **Category:** IBC
- **Source page:** https://caseease.in/cases/ibc/supreme-court-of-india/deepak-bhandari-vs-vivek-kumar-arora-ors-civil-appeal-no-1788-of-2021-0541dcf0

## Summary

### Background

The appeal was filed against an order by the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), which upheld an order by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). The NCLT order affirmed the rejection of the expression of interest by the Resolution Professional. The Interlocutory Application No. 163646 of 2021 came up for hearing, and the court heard the learned counsel for the parties in the civil appeal.

## Facts

The appellant filed an appeal against the order passed by the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), which upheld the order passed by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). The NCLT had affirmed the rejection of the expression of interest by the Resolution Professional. The court found two grounds against the acceptability of the expression of interest. First, it was found that the expression of interest would be in violation of Section 29A(a) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016. Second, the attempt to seek shelter under Section 240A on the score that the Corporate Debtor was a MSME also did not find favor. The court dismissed the appeal.

## Issues and analysis

### Issue 1: Whether the expression of interest given by the appellant attracts the prohibition indicated in …

**Ratio:** Section 29A(a) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 prohibits certain individuals

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**Reasoning:** The court was convinced that the expression of interest given by the appellant would

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**Interpretation:** Section 29A(a) aims to prevent individuals or entities with a history of

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**Application:** The court applied the prohibition under Section 29A(a) to the appellant's

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## Parties

- **Judges:** K.M. Jo…; Pamidighantam Sri…
- **Appellants:** Deepak Bh…
- **Respondents:** VIVEK KUMAR ARORA…
- **Advocates:** Nikhil Si…; Shraddha De…; +10 more

## Timeline

- **2021-12-17 — Order Da…**: The Supreme Court…

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