# In the matter of M/s S.S. Engineers
Vs.
Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd.
& Ors. Civil Appeal No. 4583 of 2022

> SC judgment dated 2022-07-15. Citation: TCN-2022-SC-00037. This is a civil appeal against a judgment and order dated 10th January 2022 passed by the National…

- **Court:** SC
- **Order date:** 15 Jul 2022
- **Citation:** TCN-2022-SC-00037
- **Category:** IBC
- **Source page:** https://caseease.in/cases/ibc/supreme-court-of-india/ms-ss-engineers-vs-hindustan-petroleum-corporation-ltd-ors-civil-appeal-no-4583-7cb90b33

## Summary

### Background

This is a civil appeal against a judgment and order dated 10th January 2022 passed by the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), Principal Bench, New Delhi. The NCLAT allowed Company Appeal (AT)(Insolvency) No. 332 of 2020 filed by the Respondent No.1, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL), and set aside the order dated 12.02.2020 passed by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Kolkata. The NCLT had admitted an application filed by the appellant under Section 9 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) as an Operational Creditor, for initiation of the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) against HPCL Biofuels Ltd. (HBL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of HPCL. The NCLAT directed the Adjudicating Authority NCLT to close the proceedings for

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## Facts

M/S S.S. Engineers (the appellant) filed an application under Section 9 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) to initiate Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) against HPCL Biofuels Ltd. (HBL). The appellant claimed that HBL owed them money for work done under a tender for enhancing the capacity of HBL's boiling houses. HBL floated tenders between 27.06.2012 and 30.08.2012. The appellant submitted its offer, and on or about 15.10.2012, four purchase orders were issued to the appellant. HBL issued purchase orders on 01.11.2012. Between 21.11.2012 and 25.03.2013, the appellant raised invoices. HBL sent an email on 29.12.2013, stating the appellant violated the purchase order terms. On 02.01.2014, HBL sent a letter stating the appellant violated the General

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## Issues and analysis

### Issue 1: Whether the Adjudicating Authority (NCLT) was correct in admitting the application of the …

**Ratio:** The IBC is not intended to be used as a debt collection forum, and CIRP should not be

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**Reasoning:** The Supreme Court reasoned that the correspondence between the parties, the terms of the

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**Interpretation:** The court interpreted Section 9 of the IBC to mean that the Adjudicating

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**Application:** The court applied the ratio and reasoning to the specific facts of the case,

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## Parties

- **Judges:** INDIRA BA…; V. RAMASUBR…
- **Appellants:** M/S S.S ENG…
- **Respondents:** HPCL Biofuels…; HINDUSTAN…
- **Other parties:** Affir…

## Timeline

- **2018-11-15 — Application f…**: The appellant filed an application for initiation of CIRP against HBL under Section 9 of…
- **2019-03-07 — HBL's Re…**: HBL filed its reply to the said…

## 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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