Jaiprakash Associates Insolvency: Lenders Doubt Settlement

New Delhi, Jun 24 (PTI) Lenders of Jaiprakash Associates Ltd (JAL) on Monday raised apprehensions about the one-time settlement (OTS) proposal by the debt-ridden group and said they were not convinced with it.

During the proceedings of the NCLAT, counsel appearing for lenders said the insolvency plea was filed against JAL in 2017 and for the last seven years, it dragged it under the pretext of a settlement.

Earlier on June 10, 2024 during the last hearing, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) had asked the banks to consider the OTS proposal submitted by debt-ridden JAL by June 24, the next date of the hearing.

On Monday, during the hearing, a two-member vacation bench observed that the banks had not filed any response to the OTS proposal.

Replying to this, the appellate tribunal was informed that a last-minute clarification had been issued by JAL last night over the OTS and they need time to go through it.

After a brief hearing, NCLAT directed to list the matter to July 3 for the next hearing and directed JAL's lender to consider OTS and file a reply.

The appellate tribunal was hearing an appeal filed by Sunil Kumar Sharma, a member of the suspended board of JAL, challenging the order of the Allahabad bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).

On June 3, the Allahabad bench of NCLT admitted the six-year-old petition filed by ICICI Bank in September 2018 and appointed Bhuvan Madan as interim resolution professional after suspending the board of JAL.

During the last hearing, counsel appearing for JAL had submitted that the company is inclined to make the entire payment within 18 weeks, if the OTS is accepted by the bank.

Earlier, JAL moved an OTS proposal to creditors before the NCLT, which had a provision of an upfront payment of Rs 200 crore and the balance of about Rs 16,000 crore to be paid on or before 18 weeks from its acceptance.

However, this was dismissed by the Allahabad bench of the NCLT and directed to initiate the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) against JAL.

In its order, a two-member vacation bench of the NCLAT said that the JAL may also consider a deposit of some bigger amount by the next date of hearing.