The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), New Delhi, has set aside the approval given to investor Kalpraj Dharamshi and Rekha Jhunjhunwala consortium’s takeover bid for imaging and printing company Ricoh India.
The tribunal said the Resolution Professional committed a grave error in accepting the resolution plan after the expiry of the deadline for submission of bid/resolution plan without notifying/publishing the extension of the timeline for submission of expression of interest as per IBC provisions, it said. It also directed the committee of lenders to take a decision afresh on the resolution plans already submitted, within ten days from its order dated August 5.
If no decision is communicated and the timeline for completion of the insolvency process has already expired, NCLT Mumbai is to pass an order for liquidation of Ricoh India, it added.
In 2016, there were allegations of fraud committed by the top management. The company owed ₹2,519 crore to financial and operational creditors.
In January 2018, Ricoh India had filed for voluntary bankruptcy proceedings.
The NCLT Mumbai had approved the takeover bid of Kalpraj Dharamshi and Rekha Jhunjhunwala consortium while rejecting a plea by Kotak Investment Advisors Ltd. alleging irregularities in the corporate insolvency process. Kotak Investment Advisors Ltd., whose takeover bid was rejected, moved NCLAT against the NCLT’s order.
In its plea, Kotak said its associate company Phoenix Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd. and Karvy Group had submitted resolution plans within the deadline.
Two more resolution plans from WeP Peripherals and from the consortium of Kalpraj Dharamshi and Rekha Jhunjhunwala were accepted by the resolution professional after the deadline expired, it alleged. The committee of lenders later voted in favour of Kalpraj Dharamshi and Rekha Jhunjhunwala consortium’s plan.
NCLT Mumbai had failed to appreciate the illegalities and irregularities pointed out by Kotak, the NCLAT said.
