In re Racharla Ramakrishna Gupta (NCLT Hyderabad)
The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Hyderabad Bench-II, has ordered the liquidation of M/S Neocortex Life Sciences Private Limited, a corporate debtor, after concluding that its Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) had failed to yield a viable resolution. The decision was made in response to an application filed by Interim Resolution Professional (IRP) Racharla Ramakrishna Gupta, who highlighted the company’s weak financial state and a lack of cooperation from its creditors and management.
The CIRP for Neocortex Life Sciences Private Limited was initiated on February 13, 2024, following an application under Section 10 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). Racharla Ramakrishna Gupta was appointed as the Interim Resolution Professional (IRP). A public announcement was made on February 16, 2024, to invite claims from creditors. The IRP subsequently verified claims and constituted a Committee of Creditors (CoC) consisting of seven operational creditors, with Fermentis Life Sciences Private Limited holding the majority voting rights at 67.215%.
According to the IRP’s application, the CIRP encountered significant challenges from the outset. The CoC, in its first meeting on April 3, 2024, approved the IRP’s fees and initial expenses but did not approve any further funding or interim finance needed to continue the process. This lack of financial support effectively stalled the proceedings. The IRP noted that following this first meeting, CoC members were unresponsive, neither attending subsequent meetings nor participating in e-voting, despite repeated attempts by the IRP to contact them via email and phone.
