JM Financial Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd. Vs Registrar (Bombay High Court)
In JM Financial Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd. Vs Registrar, the Bombay High Court issued directions to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Mumbai, for constitution of a special Bench to dispose of a long-pending insolvency petition filed under Section 7 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC).
The petitioner had filed Company Petition No. C.P.(IB)/3500(MB)2019 under Section 7 of the IBC against respondent No.2 alleging default in repayment since 2008, with outstanding dues stated to be approximately Rs.167 crores. The company petition had been pending since 2019.
The High Court noted that the petition was first heard finally by a Bench of the NCLT and reserved for orders on 17.07.2023. However, on 18.08.2023, the matter was de-reserved because one of the Bench members had been transferred from Mumbai to Kochi. The petitioner contended that transfer of a Bench member could not justify de-reservation of a matter already reserved for orders.
Subsequently, another Bench heard the company petition and again reserved it for orders on 19.12.2023. Despite the matter remaining under the category “reserved for orders,” no decision had been pronounced for more than two years. During this period, the two members of that Bench were split into different Benches though both continued to remain posted in Mumbai. An intervention application was also filed by a third party during the pendency of the matter.
