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Informist, Tuesday, Jul. 7, 2026

 

NEW DELHI – The Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal Tuesday rejected Authum Investment & Infrastructure Ltd.'s INR 850.50-million resolution plan for debt-ridden Vas Infrastructure Ltd. as its resolution professional Ashok Kumar Golechha and financial creditor Canara Bank colluded with the suspended management of Vas Infrastructure and committed fraud in the insolvency process. The findings of Canara Bank's probe report with regard to diversion of funds by Vas Infrastructure to sister concerns were suppressed by the bank during the course of insolvency proceedings and not shared with the resolution professional, the tribunal said. 

 

According to Canara Bank's probe report, Vas Infrastructure had diverted substantial borrowed funds to its sister concerns by routing them through multiple accounts. Certain group concerns involved in the transactions were neither carrying on substantive business activities nor generating commensurate business income and appeared to function as shell or conduit entities, the tribunal noted.

 

Non-disclosure of such findings by the sole committee of creditors member to the resolution professional right up to the approval of the resolution plan indicates the possibility of collusion at concerned level of the bank with the suspended management of Vas Infrastructure, said the tribunal. Canara Bank has so far not taken steps to initiate any proceedings against the suspended management of Vas Infrastructure for making false representation regarding "ownership" of a land parcel in Borivali prior to the insolvency commencement date for the purpose of obtaining term loans against mortgage of the plot, said the tribunal. The chairman of Canara Bank should look into this matter and take such necessary corrective steps, said the tribunal.

 

The tribunal came down heavily on the resolution professional and said that it had made a false and misleading representation of Vas Infrastructure as "owner" of certain land in the information memorandum. The resolution professional has made brazen attempts to mislead the tribunal by resorting to blatant misrepresentation of facts, it said. Further, the resolution professional has failed to comply with Regulation 35A of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (Insolvency Resolution Process for Corporate Persons) Regulations 2016, it said. The resolution professional has not placed details of fraudulent transactions along with the resolution plans before the committee of creditors for its consideration, said the tribunal.

 

The tribunal asked the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India to investigate the conduct of the resolution professional in the matter and initiate appropriate disciplinary action as warranted under the 2016 Code and the relevant regulations. The overall conduct of the resolution professional throughout the insolvency resolution process betrays not only gross negligence, deliberate concealment and misrepresentation of material facts and non-adherence to relevant regulations but also active collusion and connivance with the suspended management of the corporate debtor, it said.

 

The tribunal directed re-initiation of the corporate insolvency resolution process of Vas Infrastructure. The committee of creditors may take appropriate decision for replacing the present resolution professional to re-initiate the insolvency resolution process right from the preparation of fresh information memorandum and issuance of fresh form-G inviting expression of interest after disclosing all required information therein correctly and properly in strict compliance with the provisions of the 2016 Code and the regulations, it said. The resolution process should be completed in 120 days, said the tribunal.

 

In 2024, the tribunal had admitted a petition by Canara Bank to start insolvency proceedings against Vas Infrastructure. The debt-ridden company has admitted dues of INR 3.90 billion. Thereafter, the committee of creditors had approved Authum Investment's resolution plan for Vas Infrastructure.

 

On Tuesday, shares of Vas Infrastructure Ltd. ended 5.0% lower at INR 9.40 on BSE. Shares of Canara Bank ended 1.1% lower at INR 125.03 on the National Stock Exchange, and shares of Authum Investment & Infrastructure Ltd. ended 1.0% lower at INR 517.80.  End

 

Reported by Surya Tripathi

Edited by Avishek Dutta

 

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