April, 2024 For Private Circulation - Educational & Informational Purpose Only A BRIEFING ON LEGAL MATTERS OF CURRENT INTEREST KEY HIGHLIGHTS * Bombay High Court: NCLT has jurisdiction to direct Directorate of Enforcement to release attached properties of a corporate debtor. ⁎ Delhi High Court: Designation of seat of arbitration is similar to an exclusive jurisdiction clause. ⁎ Bombay High Court: Orders issued by banks and financial institutions while declaring a wilful defaulter must be reasoned orders.

The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC) has been at loggerheads with the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) on various occasions in the corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) of a distressed entity. Courts and tribunals have passed varying judgments, either giving primacy to the IBC or allowing the Enforcement Directorate (ED), a functionary under the PMLA, to perform its duties irrespective of the ongoing CIRP of a company.

The role of a liquidator comes with its own set of challenges and the computation of their fee is no exception. This article delves into a legal battle between a liquidator and the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board (“IBBI”) concerning the Board’s clarifications[1] on fee calculation. The crux of the dispute?

On 18 September 2023, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) introduced the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (Insolvency Resolution Process for Corporate Persons) (Second Amendment) Regulations, 2023 (CIRP Amendment Regulations). Here is a summary of the key changes made through these regulations:

1. INTRODUCTION A liquidation preference right is a preferential right provided to financial investors, generally to secure their equity finance investments. Such a right (in its various forms) is generally provided irrespective of the stage of investment (be it a preliminary seed round of funding, or a growth stage funding round). What may differ is the manner of liquidation preference provided to the right holders.

Introduction

The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) on 18 September 2023 notified the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (Insolvency Resolution Process for Corporate Persons) (Second Amendment) Regulations, 2023 (CIRP Amendment Regulations) amending the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (Insolvency Resolution Process for Corporate Persons) Regulations, 2016 (CIRP Regulations).

The key changes brought about by the CIRP Amendment Regulations are as follows:

September, 2023 For Private Circulation - Educational & Informational Purpose Only A BRIEFING ON LEGAL MATTERS OF CURRENT INTEREST KEY HIGHLIGHTS * Bombay High Court: Secured creditor may initiate recovery proceedings against secured asset owned by guarantor even if principal borrower is placed under moratorium. ⁎ Calcutta High Court: Application for removal of arbitrator must be made before the same court as envisaged in Sections 2(i)(e) and 42 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996.

Introduction

Barely six years since the enactment of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (“Code”), the Code has already undergone various amendments from to time, to aid its broad objective of time bound insolvency resolution, maximisation of value of assets of corporate debtors and balancing the interests of all stakeholders. Besides the amendments, judicial pronouncements have also played an instrumental role in shaping the Code in its present form.  

On August 25, 2023, the Supreme Court of India (“Supreme Court”) in the case of Vizag Minerals and Logistics Pvt. Ltd. vs. Ravi Shankar Devarakonda & Ors1, while dismissing the civil appeal filed by Vizag Minerals and Logistics Pvt. Ltd.

In the matter of Mr. Santosh Mate (Prop. of Mahalaxmi Traders) vs. M/s Satyam Transformers Private Limited1, the Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (“NCLT Mumbai”) held that the conversion of an operational debt into financial debt through an agreement is invalid and impermissible as it would defeat the very objective of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (“IBC”) and have the effect of rewriting it.

Brief Facts