Kerala High Court Keeps Coercive Proceedings Against KHFL RP In Company-Related Criminal Cases In Abeyance

The Kerala High Court on Tuesday directed authorities to keep coercive proceedings against the Resolution Professional of Kerala Housing Finance Limited (KHFL) in abeyance in cases concerning the company.

It, however, clarified that proceedings against the other accused can continue.

Justice G. Girish passed the interim order on a petition filed by P.D. Vincent, the Resolution Professional of KHFL, which was admitted into the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) by the NCLT Kochi in September 2019.

KHFL, a housing finance company, has over 6,000 customers and claims of around ₹237 crore pending against it. During the CIRP, more than 160 criminal proceedings were initiated by customers alleging offences, including cheating under Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code and violations of the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Act, 2019.

The Resolution Professional contended that he had been receiving summons and warrants in his capacity as RP, despite the statutory moratorium under Section 14 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.

“The petitioner was not a director, promoter, employee, or member of the erstwhile management of KHFL during the relevant period and had no role whatsoever in the transactions which form the subject matter of the criminal proceedings.” the RP pleaded.

He further submitted that the repeated coercive proceedings were seriously interfering with his ability to discharge his statutory and professional responsibilities, and that it was impractical for him to appear in more than 160 proceedings.

The petitioner therefore sought protection from summons, warrants and other coercive processes issued against him solely on account of his capacity as a resolution professional.

The Court, after hearing the parties, directed the authorities to keep coercive proceedings against Vincent in his capacity as Resolution Professional of KHFL in abeyance in the cases listed in the petition.

The Bench, however, clarified that there was no fetter on proceeding against the other accused in those cases.

The matter has been posted to October 26, 2026, for further consideration.

For Petitioner: Advocates D Reetha, P.V Vinod (Bengalam), Akhil K.M and Anjali Nair