New Delhi: The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Thursday directed the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) Ahmedabad Bench to come to a decision regarding the Rs 42,000-crore resolution plan submitted by ArcelorMittal for the bankrupt Essar Steel India Ltd (ESIL) by March 8. If the Ahmedabad bench of the NCLT is unable to pass an order by this deadline, it would call records and pass an order, a two-member NCLAT bench, headed by Justice SJ Mukhopadhaya, said.
"Adjudicating authority (NCLT) has to pass final order by March 8, failing which this appellate tribunal may call all records, including resolution plan approved by the Committee of Creditors (CoC)," according to the appellate tribunal.
NCLAT directed to list the matter for next hearing on March 13, while also directing the NCLT registry to communicate this order to the Ahmedabad-based bench and its members.
The NCLAT directive arrived while the tribunal was hearing an application filed by ArcelorMittal, whose proposed takeover for ESIL had been approved by the CoC through a joint venture with Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp (NSSMC).
The debt settlement proposal put forth by the shareholders of ESIL was turned down on January 29 by NCLT Ahmedabad, saying the offer violated Section 12A of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).
Essar Steel Asia Holding's Rs 54,389-crore offer, much higher than ArcelorMittal's Rs 42,000-crore bid, was not maintainable since the only way to make a proposal is through Section 12A, the NCLT had said.