The committee of creditors had approved the security group’s bid for debt-ridden JIL. (File)
New Delhi:
Insolvency tribunal NCLT (National Company Law Tribunal) has reserved its order on Mumbai-based Suraksha Group’s bid to acquire Jaypee Infratech Ltd and complete around 20,000 flats for aggrieved home buyers.
While a two-member special bench headed by NCLT President Justice Ramalingam Sudhakar reserved the order late last month, a written order for the same was uploaded recently.
After completing the hearing on November 22, the NCLT bench directed the parties to file their final written submissions.
In June last year, Mumbai-based Suraksha Group got approval from financial creditors and homebuyers to takeover Jaypee Infratech Ltd (JIL), making it possible for 20,000 homebuyers to own their dream flats in stalled projects, mainly in Noida and Greater Noida. The hope of getting possession increased. ,
The Committee of Creditors (CoC) had approved the security group’s bid for debt-ridden JIL. However, it was pending approval before the Delhi-based principal bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).
Earlier this year, Alok Dave, managing director and chief executive officer of Suraksha ARC, had said that the company is preparing internally to start construction work on all stalled projects immediately after getting the NCLT nod.
The Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) against JIL was initiated in August 2017. It was among the first list of 12 companies against which the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) directed banks to approach the NCLT for initiating insolvency proceedings.
Section 12(1) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) mandates the CIRP to be completed within a time limit of 180 days from the date of admission of the application. However, under the request of RP, NCLT can extend the period by another 90 days.
This must be completed within 330 days, including any extensions and time taken for legal proceedings.
However, JIL was an exceptional case, facing multiple rounds of litigation and increasing time periods. Even after finalizing the bids, it was pending before the NCLT for approval for more than 17 months.
In the fourth round of the bidding process to find a buyer for JIL, Suraksha Group won the bid with 98.66 per cent votes, 0.12 per cent more than NBCC.
12 banks and over 20,000 homebuyers have voting rights in the CoC. Homebuyers and creditors hold 56.63 per cent and 43.25 per cent voting rights, respectively. Fixed deposit holders hold 0.13 per cent voting rights.
In its final resolution plan, Suraksha Group offered over 2,500 acres of land and about Rs 1,300 crore to bankers by issuing non-convertible debentures. It has also proposed to complete all the pending flats in the next four years.
Lenders to JIL have submitted a claim of Rs 9,783 crore and the CIRP was initiated on an application by the IDBI Bank-led consortium.
In the first round of insolvency proceedings, the Rs 7,350 crore bid of Lakshadweep, part of Suraksha Group, was rejected by the lenders.
The CoC had rejected the bids of Security and NBCC in the second round held in May-June 2019.
In November 2019, the Supreme Court directed that revised bids be invited only from NBCC and Security.
Then, in December 2019, the CoC approved NBCC’s resolution plan with 97.36 per cent votes during the third round of the bidding process. In March 2020, NBCC got approval from NCLT for the acquisition of JIL.
However, the order was challenged in the NCLAT and later in the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court ordered a fresh round of bidding between NBCC and Suraksha Group on March 24, 2021 only.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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