IBC
NCLT Mumbai Initiates Insolvency Proceedings Against Pune-Based EV Startup Tork Motors
The NCLT Mumbai has admitted an insolvency plea against Pune-based EV start-up Tork Motors, once backed by the late industrialist Ratan Tata, Bharat Forge, and Ola's Bhavish Aggarwal over a debt of Rs. 1.29 crore. It appointed Anagha Anasingaraju as the Interim Resolution Professional (IRP) until a Resolution Professional is appointed.The move follows a petition by Unaprime Investment Advisors, which claims that the company owes over Rs 1 crore in fees for professional advisory services The...
NCLT Allows Former Promoters To Pursue Oppression & Mismanagement Case Against Indian Commodity Exchange
The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) at Ahmedabad has allowed a plea filed by a former promoters and shareholders of Indian Commodity Exchange Limited (ICEX) to pursue a case alleging oppression and mismanagement against the commodity derivatives exchange.They had sought a waiver of the requirement that shareholders must hold at least 10 percent of a company's issued share capital to file such a petition under the Companies Act, 2013. The plea was moved by Kailash Ramkishan Gupta, a former...
Independent Directors Cannot Automatically Escape Liability For Fraud Under IBC: NCLT Mumbai
Independent directors cannot automatically escape liability for a company's alleged fraudulent transactions under Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Mumbai has ruled.The tribunal said that simply holding the title of an independent or non-executive director does not protect a person from scrutiny under insolvency law without examining their culpability in the alleged fraudulent affairs of the company. In an order passed on October 31 by a coram of...
Byju's Insolvency | Supreme Court Refuses To Interfere With NCLAT Order Allowing Byju's Subsidiary Aakash To Proceed With Rights Issue
The Supreme Court on Monday refused to interfere with an order of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) which had allowed Aakash Educational Services Ltd., a subsidiary of Byju's (Think and Learn Pvt. Ltd.), to proceed with its proposed rights issue.A bench of Justice PS Narasimha and Justice Atul Chandurkar dismissed two appeals filed by US-based lender GLAS Trust Company LLC – representing Byju's US creditors, and Shailendra Ajmera – the Insolvency Resolution Professional,...
Delay Condonable When Composite Appeal Was Filed Within Limitation But Refiled Separately After Registry's Objection: NCLAT
The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), New Delhi, comprising Justice Ashok Bhushan (Chairperson) and Barun Mitra (Member-Technical), has allowed an appeal where a composite appeal was filed within limitation, but defects were raised by the registry necessitating re-filing as separate appeals, which was beyond the period of 45 days. Initially the appellant filed a single composite appeal challenging two different orders passed by the NCLT within the limitation period of 30...
NCLT Kochi Approves Capital Reduction Of Cochin Aircraft Maintenance Company Ltd
The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) Kochi bench of Smt. Madhu Sinha (Member Technical) and Shri Vinay Goel (Member Judicial) allowed a petition filed by M/s. Cochin Aircraft Maintenance Company Limited under section 66 of the Companies Act seeking reduction of paid up share capital holding that no creditors or employees were affected by such reduction and the proposal was a commercial sound decision. It held that “the proposed reduction of paid-up capital is justified on commercial...
Bank Advancing Loans To Homebuyers Can't Claim Status Of Financial Creditor Against Builder In Absence Of Undertaking To Repay: NCLAT
The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), New Delhi bench of Justice Ashok Bhushan and Mr. Arun Baroka (Technical Member) held that a bank disbursing loans to homebuyers cannot be treated as a financial creditor in the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) of the builder, since the loan amount was sanctioned to the homebuyers and not to the corporate debtor. The Tribunal further noted that the builder had not undertaken to repay the amount to the bank in the event of ...
Resignation From Directorship Does Not Discharge Personal Guarantor From Liability Under Continuing Guarantee: NCLAT
The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) New Delhi held that once a personal guarantee is executed, the resignation from the directorship does not discharge the guarantor from liability, particularly when the guarantee is a continuing one, unless it has been expressly revoked. A bench of Justice Ashok Bhushan and Mr. Barun Mitra (Technical Member) held that “we are therefore of the considered view that the Adjudicating Authority has rightly concluded that simply because the...
NCLT Rejects Sterling Biotech's Plea To Reclaim Pune Land From Sterling Healthcare
The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) at Mumbai on Friday rejected an application filed by Sterling Biotech Ltd (SBL) seeking possession of an industrial plot in Pune leased to Sterling Healthcare Ltd (SHL), which is currently under insolvency proceedings.The dispute related to a 29-year lease executed in 2008 for land located at Village Urse in Pune district. A coram comprising Judicial Member Sushil Mahadeorao Kochey and Technical Member Prabhat Kumar held that SBL could not recover the...
Suspended Directors Are Not Entitled To Access Valuation Reports Rejected By CoC: NCLAT New Delhi
The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) New Delhi held that suspended directors are not entitled to access valuation reports rejected by Committee of Creditors (CoC), since such documents were confidential and not relied upon in the resolution process. A bench of Justice Ashok Bhushan and Mr. Barun Mitra (Technical Member) held that “when only the fresh valuation reports were germane for the insolvency resolution of the Corporate Debtor which had already been shared while...
CCI Has No Power to Investigate Disputes Concerning Abuse Of Patents: NCLAT
The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Thursday reaffirmed that the Competition Commission of India (CCI) has no authority to investigate disputes involving the exercise of patent rights, holding that such matters fall exclusively under the Patents Act, 1970.The tribunal said that when a product is protected by a patent, issues related to its pricing or licensing must be addressed under patent law and not under competition law. A coram of Judicial Member Justice Yogesh Khanna...
GLAS Trust Moves Supreme Court Against NCLAT Order Allowing Aakash to Proceed wth Rights Issue
GLAS Trust Company LLC, a US-based lender to embattled ed-tech Byju's (Think & Learn Pvt. Ltd.), has moved the Supreme Court challenging the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal's (NCLAT) order that refused to stay Aakash Educational Services Ltd.'s Extra Ordinary Meeting to approve rights issue.The lender, which represents Byju's largest creditors, has sought an immediate halt to the fundraising exercise, arguing that it could dilute Byju's 25.41% stake in the coaching subsidiary. The...