NBCC may move SC against decision to reject its Jaypee Infratech bid

NEW DELHI: State-owned NBCC might approach the Supreme Court against the creditors’ panel decision to declare its offer to acquire Jaypee Infratech as non-compliant with certain provisions of the insolvency law. According to sources, NBCC is considering the legal option as it feels the decision was biased.

The public sector firm is likely to write to Interim Resolution Professional (IRP) Anuj Jain and the Committee of Creditors (CoC), raising its objections against the decision.

Interestingly, NBCC’s plan was approved by the CoC and the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in the third round of bidding process held in late-2019 and early-last year.

On Wednesday, NBCC and the Suraksha group had submitted their final resolution plans to acquire Jaypee Infratech Ltd (JIL) in the fourth round of the insolvency process.

The CoC on Thursday decided to start voting process on Suraksha group’s bid from next week, while rejecting the resolution plan of NBCC terming it as non-compliant, sources had said last night.

The committee decided not to put NBCC’s bid on voting as it found the offer of the public sector non-compliant to provisions of insolvency law related to the treatment of assenting and dissenting financial creditors, the sources had said.

In a regulatory filing, JIL said the CoC, during its meeting on May 20, decided to put to vote the final resolution plan of Suraksha Realty Ltd along with Lakshdeep Investments and Finance Pvt Ltd.

The e-voting will commence on May 24 and close on May 27, the filing added.

On Friday, the sources said NBCC might challenge the CoC’s decision before the Supreme Court.

The IRP had submitted its report in the CoC meet, stating that the NBCC plan was non-compliant with certain provisions of the insolvency law.

Some banks were of the view that the NBCC’s plan should also be put on vote but the CoC did not agree to it, the sources had said.

It is estimated that around Rs 6,000 crore will be required to complete all stalled projects, comprising around 20,000 units.

The receivables from customers against sales are estimated at around Rs 3,500 crore, the sources had said.

This is the fourth round of the bidding process in the matter of the JIL bankruptcy case. In March this year, the Supreme Court ordered to call bids only from NBCC and Suraksha group.

The apex court had also directed to complete the resolution process in 45 days, which already lapsed on May 8, and an application has been filed to extend the timeline for finding the buyer of JIL.

JIL went into the insolvency process in August 2017 after the NCLT admitted an application by an IDBI Bank-led consortium.

In the first round of the insolvency proceeding, the Rs 7,350-crore bid of Lakshadweep, part of the Suraksha group, was rejected by lenders.

The CoC had rejected the bids of Suraksha Realty and NBCC in the second round held in May-June 2019.

The matter reached the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) and then the apex court.

On November 6, 2019, the Supreme Court directed the completion of JIL’s insolvency process within 90 days and ordered that the revised resolution plan to be invited only from NBCC and Suraksha Realty.

In December 2019, the CoC comprising 13 banks and around 21,000 homebuyers approved the resolution plan of NBCC with a 97.36 per cent vote in favour in the third round of the bidding process.

Then, in March 2020, NBCC had got an approval from the NCLT to acquire Jaypee Infratech.

Homebuyers’ claims amounting to Rs 13,364 crore and lenders’ claims worth Rs 9,783 crore were admitted last year.

The order was, however, challenged in the appellate tribunal NCLAT and later in the Supreme Court, which in March 2020 ordered to call fresh bids from the same two contenders — NBCC and Suraksha.