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Informist, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025

 

NEW DELHI – The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal has asked the resolution professional of Kohinoor Steel Pvt. Ltd. to verify and entertain IFCI Ltd.'s INR 1.72 billion claim as per law. The appellate tribunal set aside the order of the Kolkata bench of the National Company Law Tribunal, which had rejected IFCI's claims. 

 

The appellate tribunal said that the claim, along with supporting evidence, was submitted by IFCI to the resolution professional within the 90-day timeframe allowed under the law. It was only due to legal interpretation that the claim was not admitted by the resolution professional, said the appellate tribunal.

 

It is the duty of the resolution professional to receive, collate and verify the claims as per law, said the appellate tribunal. "In our view, there was no delay on the part of the appellant (IFCI) in submitting its claim, along with proof, in the CIRP (Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process) of the corporate debtor. The omission or error on the part of the resolution professional in admitting the claim materially affects the resolution plan," said the appellate tribunal. The Kolkata NCLT is yet to approve the resolution plan.

 

IFCI had granted a loan to Kohinoor Power, in which a corporate guarantee was given by Kohinoor Steel. In 2018, the Kolkata NCLT admitted Kohinoor Power to insolvency proceedings. IFCI had filed its claim as a financial creditor in the insolvency proceedings of Kohinoor Power and was admitted. However, Kohinoor Power went into liquidation, and IFCI's claim remained undischarged, except to the extent of INR 2.9 million.

 

Thereafter, Kohinoor Steel also went into insolvency, and IFCI filed a claim of INR 1.72 billion in the insolvency process. The resolution professional of Kohinoor Steel rejected IFCI's claim, stating that the petitioner cannot file two claims against two corporate debtors for the same debt. As the claim of IFCI has been admitted into the insolvency proceedings of Kohinoor Power, the principal borrower, the same claim cannot be admitted in the proceedings of the corporate guarantor, Kohinoor Steel, the resolution officer said. Despite repeated requests, the resolution professional rejected the claims, stating that the proceedings of Kohinoor Steel were nearing completion and the claims had not been filed within the stipulated timeline.

 

The petitioner argued that, according to a 2020 Supreme Court verdict, claims can be filed in the insolvency proceedings of both the corporate debtor and the guarantor. The top court had said that the release or discharge of a principal borrower from the debt owed by it to its creditor through liquidation or insolvency proceeding does not absolve the guarantor of his or her liability, which arises out of an independent contract, argued the petitioner. On the proceedings nearing completion, IFCI cited a 2024 ruling in which the Supreme Court had set aside the approved resolution plan for failing to include the creditor's claim.

 

On Tuesday, shares of IFCI ended 1.7% higher at INR 54.05 on the National Stock Exchange.  End 

 

Reported by Surya Tripathi

Edited by

 

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