NCLT Dismisses ICICI Bank’s IBC Case Against Hyderabad Ring Road Projects
ICICI Bank has already raised similar claims against Hyderabad Ring Road Projects’ corporate guarantor Era Infra Engineering.
The National Company Law Tribunal has dismissed a plea filed by ICICI Bank Ltd. against Hyderabad Ring Road Projects Pvt. Ltd. under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, observing that there was "duplicacy of the claims" of the private lender.
A two-member bench, headed by Justice MM Kumar said ICICI Bank had already raised similar claims against Hyderabad Ring Road Projects’ corporate guarantor Era Infra Engineering Ltd., which is currently going through corporate insolvency resolution process.
"Therefore, on account of duplicacy of the claims, the petition can not be entertained," said the NCLT bench, adding "this petition fails and the same is dismissed".
Hyderabad Ring Road Projects, a special purpose vehicle of Era Infra Engineering, had raised Rs 193.60 crore between January 2014 to September 2015.
ICICI Bank had extended the loan over the corporate guarantee filed by Era Infra Engineering, against which the NCLT has already allowed to start insolvency proceedings after default in June 2018.
The NCLT observed that ICICI Bank has already filed claims of Hyderabad Ring Road Projects before the resolution professional of Era Infra Engineering, which has been admitted as financial creditor of the company.
"... It is evident that the claim lodged by the petitioner ICICI Bank Ltd before IRP of that company (Era Infra Engineering) has already been collated and admitted. This can not be again made the basis of triggering CIRP in the present proceedings and it is not permissible under law...," NCLT observed.
NCLT had in April dismissed ICICI Bank's insolvency plea against Era Infrastructure India for a default of Rs 240 crore on the same grounds, stating that the bank has already raised similar claims against its parent company Era Infra Engineering.
Hyderabad Ring Road Projects was represented by advocate Vijay Kumar Singh before the NCLT.
Era Infra Engineering was in the Reserve Bank of India’s first list of 12 defaulting companies from which banks had to recover debts through IBC.