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Madhavi Khanna

Partner in the Litigation and Arbitration Practice at the NOIDA office of Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas. Madhavi specialises in the field of commercial litigation, infrastructure arbitrations, insolvency resolution, and appellate side practice before the Supreme Court, Delhi High Court and the NCLAT. She can be reached at madhavi.khanna@cyrilsrhoff.com

Locus to Challenge Tender Conditions after Participation in Tender Process

Summary: As per settled legal jurisprudence, there are limited grounds available for a participating entity to raise challenges to a tender process and/ or its terms after participation. Barring such limited grounds, any challenge in respect of a tender must be raised before participation in the tender process. This blog focusses on the Supreme Court’s decision in National Highways Authority of India v. Gwalior-Jhansi Expressway Limited (2018) 8 SCC 243, which, in a specific factual matrix, held that an entity which did not participate in the tender process, did not have the locus to challenge the tender and thereby claim a substantive right arising therefrom. However, in subsequent High Court decisions, the aforesaid rationale has been applied in an overbroad manner, dehors its underlying factual matrix, effectively treating it as a general rule that non-participating entities lack locus to raise challenges in respect of tenders.

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Fresh Start: Balance Sheet Entries Read With Supporting Records Constitute Debt Aknowledgement, Resets Limitation

Summary: The Supreme Court has held that entries in a corporate debtor’s balance sheet, when read alongside corroborative materials including cash flow statements, constitute a valid acknowledgement of debt under Section 18 of the Limitation Act, 1963, thereby resetting the period of limitation for creditors to initiate insolvency proceedings. This ruling strengthens the position of creditors under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, ensuring that procedural technicalities do not frustrate their rights to take recourse through insolvency proceedings. It also places greater responsibility on auditors and accountants, as financial statements may now carry significant consequences for both debtors and creditors by operating as binding acknowledgements of liability.

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Treatment of Recoveries from Avoidance Transactions under the Resolution Plan

Introduction

In a landmark decision[i] rendered on April 1, 2025, the Hon’ble Supreme Court held (“Supreme Court”)that the Hon’ble National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (“NCLAT”) transgressed its jurisdiction by interfering with the resolution plan clause pertaining to the treatment of recoveries from fraudulent and wrongful trading applications filed under Section 66 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (“Code”) .

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Real Estate Insolvency: Waivers contemplated under approved resolution plan override transfer / change in shareholding charges demanded by Industrial Development Authorities

In a recent judgment[1], the Hon’ble Supreme Court has upheld the approval of a resolution plan which provided that there should be an exemption from payment of (i) any type of fees/ penalties for renewal of sub-lease; and (ii) transfer charges due to change in directorship/ shareholding in favour of the resolution applicant…

Big win for PSBs: SC upholds arbitral award awarding damages for breach of substitution agreement, asks state agency to compensate lenders in full

The Hon’ble Supreme Court vide an order dated December 01, 2023, dismissed Special Leave Petition (Civil) No. 19675 of 2023 (“SLP”), filed by Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (“HSIIDC”), a state government agency, against concurrent judgments of the Hon’ble Delhi High Court, upholding an arbitral award rendered in favour of a consortium of public sector banks, led by IDBI Bank Limited (“Senior Lenders”). The Ld. arbitral tribunal, comprising Hon’ble Justice (Retd.) R M Lodha, former Chief Justice of India, Hon’ble Justice (Retd.) K S P Radhakrishnan and Hon’ble Justice (Retd.) J Chelameswar (“Ld. Arbitral Tribunal”), finding favour with the case, pleaded on behalf of the Senior Lenders, awarded INR 1737.11 crore (plus additional interest and costs) as damages for HSIIDC’s breach of substitution agreement entered into between the Senior Lenders, HSIIDC and M/s KMP Expressways Limited, i.e. the concessionaire (“KMP”/ “Concessionaire”) (“Arbitral Award”).

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Extension under Section 29A of Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 not a possibility if application for extension is not made while mandate subsisted

The Hon’ble Calcutta High Court in Rohan Builders (India) Pvt. Ltd v Berger Paints India Limited 2023 SCC OnLine Cal 2645 recently deliberated on the issue of whether Courts can extend an arbitral tribunal’s mandate under Section 29A(4) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (“the Act”), after the mandate of the arbitral tribunal has been terminated.

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