# In the matter of HPCL Bio-Fuels Ltd. vs. Shahaji Bhanudas Bhad

> SC judgment dated 2024-11-07. Citation: TCN-2024-SC-00016. The case involves a civil appeal against a High Court order that appointed an arbitrator in a…

- **Court:** SC
- **Order date:** 7 Nov 2024
- **Citation:** TCN-2024-SC-00016
- **Category:** IBC
- **Source page:** https://caseease.in/cases/ibc/supreme-court-of-india/hpcl-bio-fuels-ltd-vs-shahaji-bhanudas-bhad-fb72530d

## Summary

### Background

The case involves a civil appeal against a High Court order that appointed an arbitrator in a dispute between HPCL Bio-Fuels Ltd. (appellant) and Shahaji Bhanudas Bhad (respondent). The dispute arose from tenders floated by the appellant for enhancing the capacity of process stations and Boiling House at Lauriya and Sugauli. The respondent participated in the bidding process and was declared the successful bidder. Purchase orders were issued, and the respondent supplied equipment and raised invoices. Concerns arose regarding the slow progress of work, quality of materials, and non-adherence to timelines. The respondent issued a legal notice invoking arbitration, but the appellant did not respond. The respondent then filed an arbitration petition in the High Court,

…

## Facts

HPCL Bio-Fuels Ltd. (appellant) floated tenders for enhancing capacity at Lauriya and Sugauli. M/s Shahaji Bhanudas Bhad (respondent) was the successful bidder. Purchase orders were issued, and the respondent supplied equipment, raising invoices for Rs. 38,18,71,026/-. The appellant expressed concerns about the slow progress and quality. Between 2012 and 2013, the appellant paid Rs. 19.02 crore, leaving a balance of Rs. 18,12,21,452/-. The respondent sent a legal notice on 09.07.2016, invoking arbitration. On 16.02.2018, the respondent filed an arbitration petition in the High Court, which was withdrawn on 01.10.2018. Subsequently, on 15.10.2018, the respondent initiated CIRP against the appellant under Section 9 of the IBC. The NCLT admitted the application, but the

…

## Issues and analysis

### Issue 1: Whether a fresh application under Section 11(6) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, …

**Ratio:** The principle underlying Order 23 Rule 1 of the CPC, which prevents a plaintiff from

…

**Reasoning:** The court reasoned that allowing a party to repeatedly file similar applications after

…

**Interpretation:** The court interpreted that the withdrawal of a Section 11(6) petition without

…

**Application:** In this case, the respondent withdrew the first arbitration application without

…

## Parties

- **Judges:** Dr Dhananjaya Y…; J.B. PARD…
- **Appellants:** M/S HPCL BIO-FUELS…
- **Respondents:** M/S SHAHAJI…
- **Other parties:** Affir…

## Timeline

- **2012-06-27 — Tender F…**: Appellant floated tenders for…
- **2012-08-30 — Tender F…**: Appellant floated tenders for…

## Legal provisions

- [Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, Section 11(6) — Persons not entitled to make application](https://caseease.in/legal-provisions/insolvency-and-bankruptcy-code-2016/section-11)

---

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/supreme-court-of-india/hpcl-bio-fuels-ltd-vs-shahaji-bhanudas-bhad-fb72530d