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United Kingdom

Batra v Castle Trust: stay of bankruptcy order pending appeal refused; exceptional circumstances require substantial grounds and irreparable harm (England and Wales)

Published on: 31 July 2025

Published by a LexisNexis Restructuring & Insolvency expert
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Article summary

Batra v Castle Trust Capital Plc and another [2025] EWHC 1555 (Ch)

What are the practical implications of this case?

Batra v Castle affirms the strong presumption against the court ordering a stay of bankruptcy proceedings while any appeal by the bankrupt against the bankruptcy order is pending determination. Adopting the approach in Foster v Davenport (2011) (unreported), as cited in Tyschenko v Hyde [2024] EWHC 838 (Ch), the court reiterated and applied that position. These authorities make plain that a stay will be entertained only in exceptional circumstances—that is, where there are substantial grounds of appeal and the applicant establishes that an order of bankruptcy would cause irreparable harm. As a result, debtors must put forward, and properly evidence, every viable point at the hearing of the bankruptcy petition itself, rather than reserving arguments for later. Once a bankruptcy order has been made, applications to stay the process are, as a general rule, unlikely to meet with success.

What was the background?

Mr Batra was a borrower from Castle Trust Capital Plc (Castle), under a loan secured against property assets...

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