This assumes importance as Mumbai High Court had asked Canara Bank, which had sought recovery of its Rs 10 crore loan from ABCL, to obtain the consent of BIFR for appointment of a court receiver and launching proceedings.

Under the Sick Industrial Companies (special provisions) Act 1985, if a company has been registered with BIFR no creditor can have right over the assets of the company.

ABCL had approached BIFR for declaring it as a sick company claiming its net worth was completely eroded by accumulated losses.

As against its net worth of Rs 60.52 crore, ABCL has accumulated losses to the tune of Rs 68.51 crore. Cashing in on the popularity of superstar Amitabh Bachchan, the company ventured into various activities of film production, audio cassettes and eventmanagement.

However, it started incurring losses and its major failure came from "Miss World Pageant" in 1996 leading to a default of Rs 18 crore to Prasar Bharti.

On April 16 last, the Mumbai High Court had restrained Amitabh Bachchan from selling off his Mumbai bungalow `Prateeksha' and two flats till the pending loan recovery cases of Canara Bank were disposed of.

Bachchan had, however, pleaded that he had mortgaged his bungalow to Sahara India Finance Ltd for raising funds for his company.

In the last hearing of the High Court Bachchan's counsel had assured the court that ABCL would repay the entire loan over a period of time. Earlier, ABCL had filed a petition to save its property mortgaged to the bank. But even before the court receiver could take possession thereof, ABCL moved BIFR.