Claim of ESOP by the shareholder from Corporate Debtor does not form part of the Operational Debt as defined u/s 5(21) of the IBC 2016 – Saurabh Soni Vs. Arthimpact Finserve Pvt. Ltd. – NCLT Mumbai Bench

In this case, claim of an Operational Creditor is arising on account of non-issuance of share certificate on account of 882 shares which were to be allotted by the Corporate Debtor to the Operational Creditor as an ex-employee in this case. The Adjudicating Authority held that a claim on account of ESOP can never be a subject matter of Operational Debt payable by the Corporate Debtor to the Operational Creditor. If at all the claim of the employee is to be considered, it can be at best for non-issuance of Share Certificates to the shareholder of the Corporate Debtor but it can’t be categorised as Operational Debt. Accordingly, this petition is dismissed. However, the Operational Creditor is at liberty to claim the amount of ESOP from the company under any other law.

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