The NCLT admitted SIDBI's petition for insolvency against a media company, relying on NeSL's deemed-authenticated record showing a ₹2.52 crore unpaid financial debt. The ruling underscores the evidentiary weight of NeSL data under IBC.
The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has admitted a petition filed by SIDBI for initiating Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) against a media company, based on a default of ₹2.52 crore confirmed through records from National E-Governance Services Limited (NeSL). The tribunal held that the NeSL data, being duly authenticated and maintained as a financial information repository, constituted conclusive evidence of financial debt under Section 7 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).
NeSL’s report was deemed authentic under Rule 3(f) of the Information Utilities Rules, 2017, eliminating the need for further corroboration. The NCLT observed that once such a record is produced, the burden shifts to the corporate debtor to rebut the presumption of debt. As no successful challenge was mounted, the tribunal concluded the existence of default was established, fulfilling the threshold requirement under Section 7(1).
The NeSL record, being statutorily recognized and electronically secured, forms reliable and admissible evidence of outstanding debt in absence of fraud or material discrepancy.
For practitioners, this reinforces reliance on financial information repositories during pre-filing due diligence. It also streamlines evidence production in IBC proceedings, reducing dependency on documentary trails where NeSL data is available.
Citations
- Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, Section 7
- Information Utilities Rules, 2017, Rule 3(f)
