The Supreme Court refused to entertain an appeal filed by Videocon group chief Venugopal Dhoot seeking to halt lenders of insolvency-ridden Videocon Industries Ltd from dealing with foreign oil and gas assets of Videocon Oil Ventures, a group company.
While refusing to direct the national company law appellate tribunal (NCLAT) to rule on the matter swiftly, the bench led by justice PS Narasimha says NCLAT can take up the case on a joint request by parties.
Earlier this month, NCLAT passed an interim order on the matter. Challenging the order, Mr Dhoot argued that despite repeated requests, the tribunal refused to grant a stay and 'resorted to hearing the case like a mini-trial whereby even after several hearings, no interim order has been passed'.
Senior counsel Akhil Sibal, representing Mr Dhoot, told the apex court that they have been repeatedly seeking a status quo on its foreign oil and gas assets, but the NCLAT has failed to decide the issue.
"If the lenders are not stopped from dealing with the foreign oil and gas assets, then by the time the appellate tribunal decides the plea, their cause of action will become infructuous," he added.
However, the SC says since the tribunal is hearing the matter, it is not apt for the apex court to step in at this point.
In 2021, Vedanta group company Twin Star Technologies offered Rs2,962 crore for Videocon Industries against admitted claims of Rs64,938 crore of the secured financial creditors. Twin Star's offer was about 4.15% of the claims for all creditors and 5.33% for financial creditors. The resoulation plan was approved by national company law tribunal (NCLT), but was rejected by NCLAT, while allowing lenders to decide on restarting the bidding mechanism.
The dispute pertains to the insolvency resolution process of debt-ridden Videocon Industries, the flagship of the Videocon group.
In its order in 2020, the Mumbai bench of national company law tribunal (NCLT) had directed the resolution professional of Videocon Industries to consider and treat all assets, tangible and intangible properties, rights, claims, and benefits of VOVL Ltd, Videocon Hydrocarbon Holdings Ltd, Videocon Energy Brasil Ltd and Videocon Indonesia Nunukan Inc as assets and properties of Videocon Industries for the insolvency process.
Later, NCLAT directed the exclusion of foreign oil and gas assets from Videocon Industries' insolvency process.
However, Mr Dhoot, in his plea, says that, despite the NCLAT order, the committee of creditors of VOVL, another debt-ridden Videocon group company, have been dealing with the foreign oil and gas assets solely to deprive the Videocon Industries of the same.
Earlier in June this year, NCLT, Mumbai, admitted a personal insolvency application against Rajkumar Nandlal Dhoot, promoter and co-owner of Videocon Industries. The bench also directed the resolution professional Ashish Narayan to issue a public notice to invite claims from all creditors.
