NCLT Sends B9 Beverages and Creditors to Mediation in Insolvency Proceedings

The New Delhi Bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has directed B9 Beverages Limited, its promoters, certain financial creditors, and applicants in connected insolvency proceedings to participate in mediation to explore a possible settlement and revival of the company.

The direction was issued in a Section 7 insolvency petition filed by Unity Small Finance Bank Limited against B9 Beverages. A Special Bench comprising Judicial Member Ashok Kumar Bhardwaj and Technical Member Ravindra Chaturvedi passed the order on 15 September 2026 after being informed that certain financial creditors were willing to infuse funds into the company and seek its revival, while settlement discussions with applicants in connected proceedings were also underway.

The proposed settlement, however, was opposed by several creditors. Unity Small Finance Bank questioned a proposal involving payment of ₹3 crore against an alleged debt of approximately ₹19.04 crore. Axis Bank informed the Tribunal that it had received a settlement proposal and was considering it. Counsel appearing for other applicants expressed apprehension that the settlement initiative could be an attempt by B9 Beverages to gain time and deal with its assets in the meantime.

Against this background, the NCLT directed counsel representing B9 Beverages, its promoters and the financial creditors willing to infuse funds to meet representatives of the creditors at the office of Advocate Eshna Kumar on 17 September 2026, with Kumar mediating the matter. Applicants in the connected proceedings and financial creditors seeking revival of the company were also directed to participate.

The Tribunal made it clear that “no further indulgence” would be granted if the meeting did not result in a settlement.

Separately, addressing concerns that the company’s assets could be siphoned off or otherwise dealt with during the process, the NCLT directed that no assets of B9 Beverages be parted with. It also required counsel for the financiers proposing to revive the company to prepare an inventory of the company’s assets and furnish copies to counsel for the creditors.

The matter was listed for further consideration on 18 September 2026.

The order is significant from a mediation perspective because it illustrates the use of mediation even within insolvency proceedings, where competing creditor claims, revival proposals and statutory processes may considerably narrow the space for negotiated resolution. By directing the principal stakeholders to participate in a structured mediation while simultaneously safeguarding the company’s assets and keeping the insolvency proceedings pending, the NCLT sought to provide a limited opportunity for consensual resolution without displacing the formal insolvency process.