NCLT Bengaluru Appoints RP From IBBI Panel In FineFacilis Personal Guarantor Insolvency

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Bengaluru, on 30 March 2026, appointed Kondisetty Kumar Dushyantha as the Resolution Professional (RP) in insolvency proceedings initiated by Asset Reconstruction Company (India) Ltd (ARCIL) against the personal guarantor of FineFacilis Management Pvt Ltd.

A Bench comprising Judicial Member Sunil Kumar Aggarwal and Technical Member Radhakrishna Sreepada rejected the guarantor, Vasudevan Sathyamoorthy's challenge alleging non-compliance with Section 97 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, which governs the appointment of an RP.

The Tribunal held:

“The IBBI under rule 8(1) of the Personal Guarantor Rules makes it clear that the Adjudicating Authority could pick any name from the overall panel for appointment of the resolution professional. Once the Board has, in exercise of its statutory powers, shared a panel/database of registered insolvency professionals with this Authority, the requirement under Section 97(4) of the Code stands duly satisfied. It is thereafter open to this Authority to appoint any insolvency professional from such panel as the Resolution Professional in the instant Petition.”

The insolvency proceedings concern a loan of Rs. 86 crore taken by FineFacilis Management, of which about Rs. 80,09,55,000 was disbursed. The guarantor had provided a personal guarantee to secure the loan. After defaults and a loan recall, the company failed to repay a substantial portion of the debt, which was later assigned to ARCIL, with a total outstanding of Rs. 72,49,28,602.

The Tribunal had previously appointed Ravi Sankar Devarakonda as RP on 1 October 2024, but the guarantor challenged this appointment before the High Court of Karnataka and the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court directed the NCLT to reconsider the appointment, focusing on compliance with Section 97(4) and (5) of the IBC.

The personal guarantor, argued that the appointment was invalid, claiming that the Adjudicating Authority did not specifically direct the IBBI to nominate an RP and that the IBBI had not provided a specific nomination.

The financial creditor countered that under Rule 8 of the Personal Guarantor Rules, the IBBI maintains a panel of pre-approved insolvency professionals, and the NCLT can appoint any RP from this panel to expedite proceedings efficiently.

The Tribunal noted the “Insolvency Professionals to act as Interim Resolution Professionals, Liquidators, Resolution Professionals and Bankruptcy Trustees (Recommendation) (Second) Guidelines, 2025”, which provide panels in advance to prevent delays.

Relying on the objectives of the Code and the NCLAT judgment in L. Ramalakshmamma v. State Bank of India, the Tribunal concluded that the Adjudicating Authority may appoint the RP from the IBBI panel.

Accordingly, the Tribunal appointed Kondisetty Kumar Dushyantha as the Resolution Professional for the Bengaluru Bench for the period 16 January to 30 June 2026.

For Petitioner: Senior Advocate Pramod Nair and Advocate Chintan Chinappa

For Respondent: Senior Advocate Shyam Sundar and Advocate Dr.Vandana P.L