Farooq Ali Khan Vs Insolvency And Bankruptcy Board of India & Anr. (Delhi High Court)
The Delhi High Court dismissed a writ petition seeking a direction to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) and other authorities to dispose of show cause proceedings initiated against a Resolution Professional (RP) within a time-bound period. The petitioner, a suspended director of a company undergoing Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Bengaluru, had filed a complaint against the RP alleging various irregularities in the discharge of his duties. The complaint was filed under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (Grievance and Complaint Handling Procedure) Regulations, 2017, and the petitioner was subsequently informed that appropriate proceedings had been initiated against the RP. The grievance raised before the High Court was that despite initiation of show cause proceedings and submission of the RP’s reply, there had been no further progress in the matter.
The Court observed that the show cause proceedings against the RP were intrinsically connected with the CIRP proceedings pending before the NCLT, Bengaluru. It held that the petitioner’s complaint and the subsequent proceedings could not be viewed in isolation from the underlying CIRP. On examining the facts, the Court found that the material, integral, and substantial part of the cause of action arose outside its territorial jurisdiction.
