SBI Back In Reliance Infratel CoC As Supreme Court Sets Aside NCLAT Order Excluding Consortium Lenders
Kirit Singhania
28 April 2026 10:59 AM IST
The Supreme Court of India has allowed the appeal filed by the State Bank of India against an October 14, 2022 order of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal, which had upheld the exclusion of SBI and other lenders from the Committee of Creditors (CoC) in the insolvency of Reliance Infratel Limited.
A bench of Justices P.S. Narasimha and Alok Aradhe set aside the NCLAT ruling and restored the status of lenders claiming under corporate guarantees as financial creditors and directed their inclusion in the CoC of Reliance Infratel Limited.
The dispute arose from an appeal filed by State Bank of India before the NCLAT against the National Company Law Tribunal's order dated March 2, 2021, which had partly allowed an application by Doha Bank Q.P.S.C seeking deletion of SBI and consortium lenders including Bank of India, UCO Bank, Syndicate Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce and Indian Overseas Bank
The controversy related to corporate guarantees executed on March 3, 2017, after the corporate debtor had already been classified as a non-performing asset with effect from August 26, 2016.
By judgment dated October 14, 2022, the NCLAT dismissed the appeal, holding that the guarantees were questionable and could not sustain claims of financial creditors. It observed that “the 'manner' and 'timing' of these Corporate Guarantees are questionable having regard to the fact that the 'Corporate Debtor' and the holding Company were already in default.”
The appellate tribunal also found that key documents relating to the guarantees were not produced before the adjudicating authority and that the guarantees were not reflected in the financial statements of the corporate debtor. In this backdrop, it concluded that claims based on such guarantees could not be sustained, resulting in the continued exclusion of SBI and other lenders and reconstitution of the CoC.