NCLT Admits Gensol EV's Insolvency Plea Against Mindra EV Over ₹1.61 Crore Default

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) at Ahmedabad has recently admitted an insolvency petition filed by Gensol EV Lease Limited, a debt ridden company that was itself admitted to insolvency in June 2025, against Mindra EV Private Limited.

The plea was admitted over a default of Rs 1.61 crore after the corporate debtor failed to appear or contest the case despite being served with notice.

A coram of Judicial Member Shammi Khan and Technical Member Sanjeev Sharma held that a corporate debtor cannot rely on alleged dues from a group company of the creditor to avoid insolvency proceedings for its own default.

Rejecting Mindra EV's defence, the tribunal observed, “the reply merely refers to alleged receivables from a third party i.e. Blu Smart Charge Private Limited, which does not constitute a pre existing dispute within the meaning of Section 8(2)(a) of the Code.”

It noted that no genuine dispute was raised before the demand notice and the debt remained unpaid.

While Blu Smart Charge is a group company of Gensol, the tribunal observed that its alleged dues had nothing to do with the contract between Gensol EV Lease and Mindra EV.

In April 2024, Gensol EV Lease placed a purchase order for the supply and installation of electric vehicle charging hubs. It paid an advance of ₹2.13 crore in instalments between April and June 2024.

The tribunal noted that Mindra EV supplied charging hubs worth only ₹52.58 lakh. It neither completed the balance supply nor returned the remaining ₹1.61 crore. Bank statements and the running account showed that the payment default had crystallised by September 5, 2024.

In response to the statutory demand notice, Mindra EV did not dispute receiving the advance or the short supply. Instead, it claimed that it was owed about Rs 1.43 crore by Blu Smart Charge Private Limited and sought to rely on this as a defence.

The tribunal noted that Mindra EV did not raise any issue about the quality of goods, performance, or the terms of the purchase order before the demand notice, and chose not to participate in the proceedings despite being given the opportunity.

Rejecting this line of defence, the Bench said, “no material has been placed on record to show that any dispute regarding the purchase order, advance payment, performance of work or refund obligation was raised by the Corporate Debtor prior to issuance of the demand notice.”

It held that alleged third party dues were unrelated to the contract between the parties and could not be treated as a pre existing dispute under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.The tribunal concluded that the operational debt was due and payable and the default stood clearly established.

It admitted the insolvency plea and appointed Rajender Pal Chandel as the Interim Resolution Professional.

Gensol EV Lease was directed to deposit Rs 5 lakh towards initial insolvency costs.

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