Fugitive bizman Nitin Sandesara’s Sterling SEZ goes to auction with reserve price of Rs 324 crore

Sterling SEZ and Infrastructure Limited (in liquidation) is set to be auctioned on September 15, 2025, with a reserve price of Rs 324 crore (INR 3,243 million). The e-auction will be conducted on an “as is where is,” “as is what is basis,” “whatever there is basis,” and “no recourse basis.” The last date for bid submissions has been extended to September 12, 2025.

This auction marks a significant step in the long-running insolvency process of the company, a subsidiary of the larger Sterling Biotech group.

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) had ordered the liquidation of Sterling SEZ and Infrastructure Ltd in October 2021 bringing a definitive end to its turbulent Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP). The order was issued after the company’s Resolution Professional informed the court that no resolution plan had been received for the company.

The case, initiated by a petition from Financial Creditor SREI Infrastructure Finance Ltd., saw the appointment of Mr. Vishal Ghisulal Jain as the Interim Resolution Professional (IRP) in July 2018. While the CIRP was in progress, a significant turn of events occurred when the Committee of Creditors (CoC) filed an application to withdraw the process under Section 12A of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). The NCLT initially approved the withdrawal, but the decision was later recalled after an intervention from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. The tribunal noted that the CoC had misled the Bench to obtain the withdrawal order.

With the withdrawal order revoked, the CIRP resumed, but the statutory period of 270 days had already elapsed. The NCLT’s final order on October 18, 2021, stated that given the CIRP period had expired and no resolution plan had been submitted for approval, the Bench was left with no other option but to order the company’s liquidation.

Mr. Vishal Ghisulal Jain, the Resolution Professional, has been appointed as the Liquidator with all the powers of the board of directors and key managerial personnel now vested in him. The order directs the liquidator to follow the process as laid out in the IBC regulations. The liquidation order also serves as a notice of discharge for the company’s employees and officers.

The Sterling Group, led by absconding promoters Chetan and Nitin Sandesara, is facing investigations by multiple federal agencies. The group and its subsidiaries, including Sterling Biotech and Sterling SEZ, collectively owe more than Rs 15,000 crore to financial and operational creditors. The case has been a major test for India’s bankruptcy laws, particularly due to the promoters’ attempt to make a one-time settlement offer while they were abroad. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has also provisionally attached assets belonging to the company as part of its investigation.

The current auction is a move to sell the corporate debtor as a going concern, a process managed by the appointed liquidator, Aegis Resolution Services Private Limited.

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