The Committee of Creditors (CoC) of Reliance Capital (RCap) on Monday told the NCLAT that it is free to negotiate as many times as needed for maximising value, the key objective under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).
Appearing on behalf of the CoC, senior advocate Kapil Sibal argued that the lenders should conduct biddings till they are satisfied with the value. IBC regulations permit wide power for negotiations, and while resolution applicants cannot submit unsolicited bids, it doesn’t stop CoC from inviting fresh ones.
RCap’s insolvency petition is currently being heard in NCLAT before Justice Ashok Bhushan (judicial member) and Barun Mitra (technical member), after an order by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) was challenged by a bidder, Torrent Group. NCLT, in its February 2 order, had declared the proposed second e-auction as a violation of bankruptcy rules.
The RCap lenders had moved NCLAT citing the need for value maximisation.
Gopal Jain appeared on behalf of the administrator and made short submissions, including updates on compliance checks of submitted plans.
NCLAT will continue to hear the case on Tuesday, when Torrent Group’s counsel, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, will make concluding arguments.