IVRCL liquidator moves NCLT against Balaram Reddy Eragam, others over fraudulent transactions

The liquidator of IVRCL Ltd, the Hyderabad-based infrastructure company that collapsed under heavy debt, has asked the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to act against Balaram Reddy Eragam and several others. The application alleges fraudulent and preferential transactions that caused actual loss to the company and its creditors.

Liquidator Purusottam Behera filed Interlocutory Application No. 1158 of 2026 before the NCLT’s Hyderabad Bench. It falls under IVRCL’s main insolvency case, CP(IB) No. 294/7/HDB/2017, and invokes Section 66 read with Section 60(5) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). Section 66 allows the tribunal to make those responsible for fraudulent or wrongful trading contribute to the company’s assets.

The application came to light through a public notice of substituted service published on Friday. It is addressed to Hindustan Dorr-Oliver Ltd (HDO), named as respondent No. 9, at its registered office in Chakala, Andheri East, Mumbai. The tribunal ordered HDO to appear and allowed the liquidator to serve the company through a newspaper notice. The next hearing is on January 19, 2027.

The notice names only the lead respondent and HDO. It does not give the amounts involved or identify the other respondents. Since HDO is respondent No. 9, at least nine parties have been named.

HDO, a listed engineering company, was a group company of IVRCL. IVRCL held over 55.2 per cent of it, with the rest held by the public. HDO is also in liquidation: its liquidation commenced on June 25, 2018, after a separate insolvency process before the NCLT’s Mumbai bench.

IVRCL’s own insolvency began after State Bank of India moved the tribunal in December 2017 over loan defaults. The company was among the 28 large corporate defaulters identified by the Reserve Bank of India for early resolution. NCLT admitted SBI’s petition on February 23, 2018, and aggregate claims against IVRCL reached Rs 13,406 crore. No resolution plan succeeded, and NCLT cause lists record the liquidation as approved on 26.07.2019.

The liquidation has now run for more than seven years. Behera took charge in 2025 after the tribunal replaced the existing liquidator Sutanu Sinha with him, a proposal approved by the stakeholders’ consultation committee. In mid-2026 he applied to extend the liquidation period from 19.07.2026 to 17.10.2026.

The Section 66 application is one of several the liquidator is pursuing. Others include contempt proceedings against Ponguleti Prasad Reddy and others and a dispute with Indian Oil Adani Ventures Limited. Any money recovered through avoidance or fraudulent-trading applications goes into the liquidation estate for distribution to creditors.

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