NCLAT upholds Adani Power bid for Korba West Power
The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) dismissed a plea by Shapoorji Pallonji & Co challenging the 2019 resolution plan of Adani Power for Korba West Power.
Shapoorji Pallonji & Co, which had moved the appellate tribunal against the resolution plan, had submitted claims of Rs 45.22 crore during the CIRP period but the same was rejected by the resolution professional.
The tribunal asked Shapoorji Pallonji & Co to pursue all contentions available to them in the pending arbitration proceedings and said that the same be decided in the said proceedings on its own merits in accordance with law
Rejecting the plea against the resolution plan by Adani Power, the two-member NCLAT bench said “there is no illegality in the order of the approval of the resolution plan by the Adjudicating Authority (NCLT) and it does not see any reason to set aside the resolution plan by Adani Power.
The appellate tribunal was deciding over a petition filed by Shapoorji Pallonji & Co, against an order passed by the Ahmedabad Bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on June 24, 2019 approving the resolution plan by Adani Power.
Shapoorji Pallonji & Co has claims of Rs 45.22 crore and an arbitration was going for the same.
Shapoorji Pallonji had contended that Korba West Power has itself triggered the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) under section 10 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, and that there were three arbitration proceedings pending between the it and the ‘Corporate Debtor’ prior to the initiation of the CIRP.
The appellant had also argued that the resolution professional had not communicated in written about the rejection of its claims, and that only on the date of approval of the resolution plan that it came to know about the rejection.
The NCLAT in its order said that there is no provision in the Code to give any communication in writing regarding the rejection and that the Appellant has never challenged the rejection of the ‘Claim’ and have filed this Appeal belatedly on 06 August 2019, after a lapse of a period of 152 days and that too against the Order approving the Resolution Plan.
The appellate tribunal, however, allowed the Shapoorji Pallonji & Co. to pursue the pending arbitration proceedings in accordance with the law.
Adani Power had emerged as the successfully bidder for Korba West Power after the committee of creditors had approved its Rs 2,900 crore resolution plan by a vote share of 69%.
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