The appellant challenged an order passed by the Chhattisgarh High Court which upheld an order passed by a Commercial Court refusing to grant the appellant further time to file its written statement, given the difficulties posed by COVID-19.
The matter stems from two public works contracts awarded by the State government. The appellant had raised various running account bills and the respondent had made various running account payments. In July 2020, the appellant sent a demand notice to the respondent, demanding payment of an alleged unpaid operational debt of ₹17,94,11,835. The respondent denied the claim and conversely made a claim of ₹3,73,24,821 against the appellant on account of excess payment. This prompted the appellant to approach the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Cuttack Bench seeking initiation of the corporate insolvency resolution process against the respondent.
The suit was instituted on December 21, 2020, and the respondent was served with summons in the subject suit on January 6, 2021. The respondent appeared before the trial court in response to the said summons on January 18, but filed an application under Section 10 read with Section 151 CPC for stay of suit proceedings on the ground that the proceedings between the parties were pending before the NCLT. The 120-day period for filing of written statement expired on May 6, 2021.
Source: Barandbench
