Case: Pratap Technocrats (P) Ltd. &amp; Ors Vs. Monitoring Committee of Reliance Infratel Limited &amp; Anr

2. The CIRP of the Corporate Debtor was initiated by an order dated 15 May 2018 of the NCLT. An interim resolution professional was appointed on 18 May 2018. The IRP issued a public announcement on 21 May 2018 inviting claims from the creditors of the Corporate Debtor. The order of the NCLT admitting the corporate debtor to the CIRP was challenged in appeal, and the order of admission was stayed on 30 May 2018. On 30 April 2019, the NCLAT vacated the stay on the CIRP. The appeal was withdrawn.3. The CIRP resumed on 7 May 2019. A fresh public announcement was issued by the IRP on 7 May 2019 for inviting claims from creditors. The Committee of Creditors was constituted on 24 May 2019. On 30 May 2019, the CoC replaced the IRP with Mr. Anish Niranjan Nanavaty as the Resolution Professional. This appointment was confirmed by the NCLT on 21 June 2019.4. During the course of the process, the RP invited Expressions of Interest9 from prospective resolution applicants on 15 July 2019. Fifteen EOIs were received, and a provisional list was prepared and furnished to the CoC on 16 August 2019. A request for resolution plan was then issued to the prospective resolution applicants on 21 August 2019, together with an information memorandum and evaluation matrix. With the consent of the CoC, the last date for submission of resolution plans was extended till 25 November 2019. The RP received resolution plans from the four prospective resolution applicants:a) Bharti Airtel Ltd.;b) Reliance Digital Platform & Project Services Limited, through its division Infrastructure Projects;c) VFSI Holdings Pte. Ltd.; andd) UV Asset Construction Company Ltd.5. The CoC engaged with the prospective resolution applicants between 2 January 2020 and 2 March 2020, in pursuance of which revised resolution plans were submitted. At the 16th meeting of the CoC held on 9 January 2020 (reconvened on 13 January 2020), further discussions were held and the resolution plan submitted by Reliance Digital Platform and Project Services Limited was taken forward as a preferred resolution plan on the basis of its feasibility, viability and implementability. The Resolution Applicant submitted a revised resolution plan on 13 January 2020, and upon due verification of its eligibility under Section 29A of the IBC, was declared a successful resolution applicant at the 19th meeting of the CoC held on 2 March 2020. The resolution plan was approved with a 100 per cent voting share of the CoC. A letter of intent (LoI) was then issued by the RP on 4 March 2020, which the Resolution Applicant unconditionally accepted on 6 March 2020.6. The NCLT has indicated the following extensions which were granted, consistent with the provisions of the IBC, for completing the CIRP:i The period of stay between 30.05.2018 and 30.04.2019 was excluded from the calculation of the CIRP vide order dated 09.05.2019.ii. Extension of 90 days was granted vide order dated 29.09.2019. The CIRP thus stood extended from 12.10.2019 to 10.01.2020.iii. Further exclusion of 24 days was granted from the CIRP period vide order dated 07.01.2020, owing to time spent in litigation from the date of approval of the Applicant as RP till the date of publication of order confirming the said appointment.iv. It was clarified by order dated 24.01.2020 that the RP and the CoC were at liberty to complete CIRP within 330 days, which was expiring on 10.03.2020.7. An application was submitted under Section 30(6) of the IBC by the RP, seeking the approval of the resolution plan by the NCLT. The NCLT discussed the salient aspects of the resolution plan in the course of its order on the approval application. The financial terms envisaged in the resolution plan have been tabulated thus:The plan envisages the following payments for the insolvency resolution of the Corporate Debtor as a going concern:G. Overall payment under the Plan:Resolution Plan contemplates following payments for the insolvency resolution of the Corporate Debtor as a going concern:Note-I to the table is as follows:Reliance Bhutan Limited (RBL)(wholly owned subsidiary of the Corporate Debtor) holds preference shares in one of the other group companies of Reliance Communications Group, i.e. Reliance Realty Limited (RRL), which holds certain real estate assets. RA provides that:a. In the event RRL is able to sell its real estate assets for an amount of INR 800 Crore or more, the RA shall cause that amount of INR 800 Crore (less any taxes and transaction costs) from the value realised from the preference shares held by RBL in RRL to be distributed to the Approving Financial Creditors on a pro rata basis to their Admitted Financial Debt within 30 days of the completion of the sale and all related approvals.b. In the event the amount expected to be realised from the sale of the real estate assets of RRL is less than INR 800 Crore, the RA will purchase the real estate assets of RRL for INR 800 Crore and said amount of INR 800 Crore (less any taxes and transaction costs) shall be distributed to the Approving Financial Creditors on a pro rata basis to their Admitted Financial Debt, as would be mutually agreed between the RA, RRL and the Approving Financial Creditors.8. In the course of deciding upon the approval plan, the NCLT noted that Doha Bank, which was one of the financial creditors of the Corporate Debtor, had instituted proceedings IA 1960 of 2019 challenging the admission of the claims of a few other creditors and a proceeding IA 3055 of 2019 to impugn the decision of the RP to recognize the indirect lenders of the Corporate Debtor as financial creditors. The NCLT noted that the applications were pending, but it came to the view that the pendency of these and other applications would not stand in the way of the approval of the resolution plan, particularly since it had been unanimously approved by the CoC. However, it clarified that the distribution of payments to creditors, financial or operational, shall be subject to the orders which are passed in the interim applications, within the ambit of the IBC. In the above backdrop, the NCLT by its order dated 3 December 2020 approved the resolution plan in terms of the following directions:14. In view of the discussions and the law thus settled, the instant Resolution Plan meets the requirements of Section 30(2) of the Code and Regulations 37, 38, 38(1A) and 39(4) of the Regulations. The Resolution Plan is not in contravention of any of the provisions of Section 29A of the Code and is in accordance with law. The same needs to be approved.15. Doha Bank one of the Financial Creditors has filed IA No. 1960 of2019 inter alia, challenging the admission of claims of few other Creditors and IA No. 3055 of 2019 impugning the decision of the Resolution Professional recognising the Indirect Lenders of the Corporate Debtor as Financial Creditors. The Applications are pending consideration. We are of the considered opinion that pendency of these and other Applications would not come in the way of approval or otherwise of the Resolution Plan. More so, when the Resolution Plan has been unanimously approved by the CoC. The distribution of the payments to the Creditors, Financial or Operational, as the case may be, shall be subject to orders to be passed in the respective Interim Applications within the ambit of the Code. We are thus inclined to dispose of this Application in the following terms. Hence ordered.i. The Application be and the same is allowed. The Resolution Plan submitted by Reliance Digital Platform & Project Services Limited through its division Infrastructure Projects annexed to the Application is hereby approved. It shall become effective from this date and shall form part of this order. It shall be binding on the Corporate Debtor, its employees, members, creditors, including the Central Government, any State Government or any local authority to whom a debt in respect of the payment of dues arising under any law for the time being in force is due, guarantors and other stakeholders involved in the Resolution Plan.ii. The distribution of the payments to the Financial Creditors shall abide by and be subject to the orders passed in IA Nos. 1960 of 2019 and 3055 of 2019 pending consideration of this Bench. The amount sought to be infused by the Resolution Applicant shall be kept in an interest bearing deposit in any Nationalised Bank till disposal of the said Applications.iii. The approval of the Resolution Plan shall not be construed as waiver of any statutory obligations of the Corporate Debtor and shall be dealt by the appropriate Authorities in accordance with law. Any waiver sought in the Resolution Plan, shall be subject to approval by the Authorities concerned.iv. The Memorandum of Association (MoA) and Articles of Association (AoA) shall accordingly be amended and filed with the Registrar of Companies (RoC), concerned for information and record. The Resolution Applicant, for effective implementation of the Plan, shall obtain all necessary approvals, under any law for the time being in force, within such period as may be prescribed.v. Henceforth, no creditors of the erstwhile Corporate Debtor can claim anything other than the liabilities referred to in Para 6 supra.vi. The moratorium under Section 14 of the Code shall cease to have effect from this date.vii. The Applicant and the Monitoring Committee shall supervise the implementation of the Resolution Plan and the Applicant shall file status of its implementation before this Authority from time to time, preferably every quarter.viii. The Applicant shall forward all records relating to the conduct of the CIRP and the Resolution Plan to the IBBI along with copy of this Order for information….9. The appellants challenged the decision of the NCLT approving the resolution plan in appeal before the NCLAT. The grounds of challenge of the appellants were:(i) The appellants were kept unaware of the CIRP and no details were provided by the RP as regards the disposal of the fund towards their claims;(ii) The claims of the appellants had not received a fair and equitable treatment;(iii) The fair market value and the liquidation value of the Corporate Debtor had not been taken into account and an amount of Rs 800 crores, being the value of certain preference shares, did not form a part of the corpus of payments to the operational creditors;(iv) There were material irregularities in the accumulation and disbursal of funds that constituted the corpus of the corporate debtor; and(v) The appellants were made to suffer a reduction of 90 per cent of their total claims, while substantial claims of nearly Rs 120 crores have been rejected.10. The NCLAT by its judgment dated 4 January 2021 rejected the appeal. The NCLAT noted that there was no substance in the grievance that the operational creditors had been unfairly or inequitably treated in regard to the distribution of funds. As a matter of fact, operational creditors (other than related parties and statutory creditors) were allocated 19.62 per cent of the up-front payment of Rs 3720 crores, while the financial creditors were paid only an amount of 10.32 per cent of the upfront payment. The approved resolution plan, the NCLAT observed, ensures restructuring and revival of the corporate debtor.11. The appellants were not excluded from the CIRP as they had filed their claims, which had been partly admitted. In dealing with the submission that there was an absence of equitable treatment of the operational creditors, the NCLAT held that equitable treatment can be claimed only by similarly situated creditors. Operational creditors stand on a different footing as compared to financial creditors. They are entitled to receive payment not less than liquidation value, which does not apply to financial creditors. In this backdrop, the NCLAT relied upon the decisions of this Court in Swiss Ribbons (P) Ltd. vs Union of India (2019) 4 SCC 17  (Swiss Ribbons) and Committee of Creditors of Essar Steel India Limited vs Satish Kumar Gupta (2020) 8 SCC 531  (Essar Steel India Limited). Finally, the NCLAT did not find substance in the grievance in regard to the preferential shares. It held that the distribution mechanism conforms to the provisions of Section 53 and was in accordance with the provisions of the IBC. The appeal was accordingly dismissed.12. When the present appeal came up on 10 March 2021, this Court noted the submission of the learned Senior Counsel that as a consequence of the order of the NCLT of 2 March 2021, certain entities which were recognized as financial creditors in the resolution plan have been de-recognized as financial creditors. The issue, then, was whether this decision would have any bearing on the requisite majority required to pass a resolution plan. The Court noted the submission of Senior Counsel for the Monitoring Committee, that the resolution plan has been approved by 100 per cent of the voting shares and the exclusion of some financial creditors from the CoC would be of no consequence. However, since the issue had been raised during the course of the submission, by an order dated 10 March 2021, opportunities were granted to the parties to file affidavits explaining the position. Affidavits have accordingly been exchanged between the parties, to which a reference would be made. It is in this backdrop that the appeal has been heard finally at this stage.

Reasoning: 18. The first aspect is in relation to the inclusion of the realisable value from the sale of preference shares held by Reliance Bhutan Limited, in Reliance Realty Limited, in determining the liquidation value of the Corporate Debtor. It has been clarified in the affidavit filed by the insolvency professional, in pursuance of the order of this Court dated 10 March 2021, that under the IBC and its regulations, the RP appointed two registered valuers in accordance with Regulation 27 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (Insolvency Resolution Process for Corporate Persons) Regulations, 2016 to carry out the valuation of the Corporate Debtor and to determine the liquidation value and fair value in accordance with Regulation 35(1). These values were placed before the CoC, in accordance with Regulation 35(2) of the CIRP Regulations, upon receipt of the resolution plans. The submission of the appellants that the realisable value from these preference shares is excluded from the liquidation value of the Corporate Debtor has been rebutted by a specific clarification contained in the Monitoring Committees affidavit, which was filed in these proceedings. As a matter of fact, the realisable value for the Corporate Debtor on account of any proceeds realised from the preference shares held by its subsidiary (Reliance Bhutan Limited), is included in the determination of the liquidation value of the Corporate Debtor. This statement in the affidavit is duly supported by relevant excerpts from the valuation reports dated 2 January 2020 and 6 December 2019, issued by the appointed valuers.Therefore, the submission that the value of preference shares has not been included in calculating the liquidation value of the Corporate Debtor is factually incorrect.(ii) Liquidation Value19. The second aspect relates to the liquidation value. On this, it has been clarified that the liquidation value due to the unsecured operational creditors would remain nil in all scenarios, including if the corpus of Rs 800 crores is separately considered. The liquidation value of the Corporate Debtor is Rs 4339.58 crores. The amount being infused by the successful resolution applicant is Rs 3720 crores. The amount of Rs 800 crores is a value ascribed under the approved resolution plan to be realised by the Corporate Debtor, pursuant to the remittance of proceeds in respect of the preference shares. Hence, cumulatively, the value being distributed under the approved valuation plan is Rs 4520 crores. It has been clarified that even if the liquidation value of the realisable value of the preference shares were to be considered in isolation for distribution amongst all the operational creditors, in terms of the priority contained in Section 53(1) of the Code, the liquidation value due to the appellants would still remain at nil.(iii) The impact of exclusion20. The third aspect relates to the order of the NCLT in Doha Bank proceedings. The order of the NCLT in the application which was moved by Doha Bank for the removal of certain financial creditors from the CoC, has no bearing on the status of the approval of the resolution plan for the reason that it had received a unanimous approval with the 100 per cent voting share in the CoC. The exclusion of certain financial debts and hence, the exclusion of certain financial creditors from the CoC, pursuant to the order of the NCLT in the Doha Bank proceedings, has no practical implication since the resolution plan continues to be approved with a 100 per cent majority even after their exclusion.21. The order of the NCLT in the Doha Bank proceedings did not provide for the inclusion of any new financial creditors. The consequence of the Doha Bank order would be that the inter se distribution between the financial creditors would be affected, which has no consequence for the operational creditors.The above statement has not been controverted during the course of the submissions.30. The appellants are challenging the treatment of operational creditors on the ground that it has not been fair and equitable. The entitlement of the operational creditors being defined by sub-clause (b) of sub-section (2) of Section 30, the clarification contained in Explanation-1 must apply. As such, as long as the payment under the resolution plan is fair and equitable amongst the operational creditors as a class, it satisfies the requirements of Section 30(2)(b).31. The nature of the jurisdiction which is exercised by the Adjudicating Authority, while approving a resolution plan under Section 31, has been interpreted in the judgment of a two-Judge Bench in K Sashidhar vs India Overseas Bank (2019) 12 SCC 150  (K Sashidhar). The decision emphasizes that the Adjudicating Authority is circumscribed by Section 31 to scrutinizing the resolution plan as approved by the CoC under Section 30(4). Moreover, even within the scope of that enquiry, the grounds on which the Adjudicating Authority can reject the plan is with reference to the matters specified in sub-Section (2) of Section 30. Similarly, the Court notes that the jurisdiction of the Appellate Authority to entertain an appeal against an approved resolution plan is defined by sub-Section (3) of Section 61. Now, it is in this context, that the consistent principle of law which has been laid down is that neither the Adjudicating Authority nor the Appellate Authority can enter into the commercial wisdom underlying the approval granted by the CoC to the resolution plan. The commercial wisdom of the CoC in its collegial capacity is, hence, not justiciable.32. In K Sashidhar (supra), Justice A M Khanwilkar, speaking for the two-Judge Bench, held:57. On a bare reading of the provisions of the I&B Code, it would appear that the remedy of appeal under Section 61(1) is against an order passed by the adjudicating authority (NCLT), which we will assume may also pertain to recording of the fact that the proposed resolution plan has been rejected or not approved by a vote of not less than 75% of voting share of the financial creditors. Indubitably, the remedy of appeal including the width of jurisdiction of the appellate authority and the grounds of appeal, is a creature of statute. The provisions investing jurisdiction and authority in NCLT or NCLAT as noticed earlier, have not made the commercial decision exercised by CoC of not approving the resolution plan or rejecting the same, justiciable. This position is reinforced from the limited grounds specified for instituting an appeal that too against an order approving a resolution plan under Section 31. First, that the approved resolution plan is in contravention of the provisions of any law for the time being in force. Second, there has been material irregularity in exercise of powers by the resolution professional during the corporate insolvency resolution period. Third, the debts owed to operational creditors have not been provided for in the resolution plan in the prescribed manner. Fourth, the insolvency resolution plan costs have not been provided for repayment in priority to all other debts. Fifth, the resolution plan does not comply with any other criteria specified by the Board. Significantly, the matters or grounds—be it under Section 30(2) or under Section 61(3) of the I&B Code—are regarding testing the validity of the approved resolution plan by CoC; and not for approving the resolution plan which has been disapproved or deemed to have been rejected by CoC in exercise of its business decision.58. Indubitably, the inquiry in such an appeal would be limited to the power exercisable by the resolution professional under Section 30(2) of the I&B Code or, at best, by the adjudicating authority (NCLT) under Section 31(2) read with Section 31(1) of the I&B Code. No other inquiry would be permissible. Further, the jurisdiction bestowed upon the appellate authority (NCLAT) is also expressly circumscribed. It can examine the challenge only in relation to the grounds specified in Section 61(3) of the I&B Code, which is limited to matters other than enquiry into the autonomy or commercial wisdom of the dissenting financial creditors. Thus, the prescribed authorities (NCLT/NCLAT) have been endowed with limited jurisdiction as specified in the I&B Code and not to act as a court of equity or exercise plenary powers.59. In our view, neither the adjudicating authority (NCLT) nor the appellate authority (Nclat) has been endowed with the jurisdiction to reverse the commercial wisdom of the dissenting financial creditors and that too on the specious ground that it is only an opinion of the minority financial creditors…...The Court, also held (in paragraph 62) that the legislative history of the IBC indicated that there is a contra indication that the commercial or business decisions of financial creditors are not open to any judicial review by the adjudicating authority or the appellate authority.33. The above principles have been re-emphasised and taken further by a three- Judge Bench in Essar Steel India Limited (supra). The Court, speaking through Justice R F Narminan, held:73. There is no doubt whatsoever that the ultimate discretion of what to pay and how much to pay each class or sub-class of creditors is with the Committee of Creditors, but, the decision of such Committee must reflect the fact that it has taken into account maximising the value of the assets of the corporate debtor and the fact that it has adequately balanced the interests of all stakeholders including operational creditors. This being the case, judicial review of the Adjudicating Authority that the resolution plan as approved by the Committee of Creditors has met the requirements referred to in Section 30(2) would include judicial review that is mentioned in Section 30(2)(e), as the provisions of the Code are also provisions of law for the time being in force. Thus, while the Adjudicating Authority cannot interfere on merits with the commercial decision taken by the Committee of Creditors, the limited judicial review available is to see that the Committee of Creditors has taken into account the fact that the corporate debtor needs to keep going as a going concern during the insolvency resolution process; that it needs to maximize the value of its assets; and that the interests of all stakeholders including operational creditors has been taken care of. If the Adjudicating Authority finds, on a given set of facts, that the aforesaid parameters have not been kept in view, it may send a resolution plan back to the Committee of Creditors to re-submit such plan after satisfying the aforesaid parameters. The reasons given by the Committee of Creditors while approving a resolution plan may thus be looked at by the Adjudicating Authority only from this point of view, and once it is satisfied that the Committee of Creditors has paid attention to these key features, it must then pass the resolution plan, other things being equal.36. The submission that there has been a failure to maximise the value of the assets has not been substantiated by any concrete material before the Court, apart from the reference to the preference shares which has already been clarified earlier in this judgment. Whether the interest of all stakeholders, including the operational creditors, has been adequately balanced has to be determined within the four corners of the statutory provisions of the IBC. It must be borne in mind that the jurisdiction of the Adjudicating Authority is circumscribed by the terms of the provisions conferring the jurisdiction. In the present case, the approved resolution plan has in fact provided for the payments to operational creditors, the percentage of recovery being 19.62 per cent. On the other hand, the payment to financial creditors is 10.32 per cent.37. The observations in paragraph 73 of the decision in Essar Steel India Limited (supra) clarify that once the Adjudicating Authority is satisfied that the CoC has applied its mind to the statutory requirements spelt out in sub-Section (2) of Section 30, it must then pass the resolution plan. The decision also emphasises that equitable treatment of creditors is equitable treatment only within the same class. In this context, the judgment contains an elaborate foundation on the basis of which it has held that financial creditors belong to a class distinct from operational creditors. This distinction was emphasised in the earlier decision in Swiss Ribbons (supra), where a two-Judge Bench of the Court, speaking through Justice R F Nariman, observed:51. Most importantly, financial creditors are, from the very beginning, involved with assessing the viability of the corporate debtor. They can, and therefore do, engage in restructuring of the loan as well as reorganisation of the corporate debtors business when there is financial stress, which are things operational creditors do not and cannot do. Thus, preserving the corporate debtor as a going concern, while ensuring maximum recovery for all creditors being the objective of the Code, financial creditors are clearly different from operational creditors and therefore, there is obviously an intelligible differentia between the two which has a direct relation to the objects sought to be achieved by the Code.38. In Essar Steel India Limited (supra), this Court held that the UNCITRAL Legislative Guide…makes it clear beyond any doubt that equitable treatment is only of similarly situated creditors. The Court finally also observed that the fair and equitable norm does not mean that financial and operational creditors must be paid the same amounts in any resolution plan before it can pass muster. On the contrary, it noted:88…Fair and equitable dealing of operational creditors rights under the said regulation involves the resolution plan stating as to how it has dealt with the interests of operational creditors, which is not the same thing as saying that they must be paid the same amount of their debt proportionately. Also, the fact that the operational creditors are given priority in payment over all financial creditors does not lead to the conclusion that such payment must necessarily be the same recovery percentage as financial creditors. So long as the provisions of the Code and the Regulations have been met, it is the commercial wisdom of the requisite majority of the Committee of Creditors which is to negotiate and accept a resolution plan, which may involve differential payment to different classes of creditors, together with negotiating with a prospective resolution applicant for better or different terms which may also involve differences in distribution of amounts between different classes of creditors.The Court also noted that:89...by vesting the Committee of Creditors with the discretion of accepting resolution plans only with financial creditors, operational creditors having no vote, the Code itself differentiates between the two types of creditors.39. These decisions have laid down that the jurisdiction of the Adjudicating Authority and the Appellate Authority cannot extend into entering upon merits of a business decision made by a requisite majority of the CoC in its commercial wisdom. Nor is there a residual equity based jurisdiction in the Adjudicating Authority or the Appellate Authority to interfere in this decision, so long as it is otherwise in conformity with the provisions of the IBC and the Regulations under the enactmentThe IBC, in our view, is a complete code in itself. It defines what is fair and equitable treatment by constituting a comprehensive framework within which the actors partake in the insolvency process. The process envisaged by the IBC is a direct representation of certain economic goals of the Indian economy. It is enacted after due deliberation in Parliament and accords rights and obligations that are strictly regulated and coordinated by the statute and its regulations. To argue that a residuary jurisdiction must be exercised to alter the delicate economic coordination that is envisaged by the statute would do violence on its purpose and would be an impermissible exercise of the Adjudicating Authoritys power of judicial review. The UNCITRAL, in its Legislative Guide on Insolvency Law, has succinctly prefaced its recommendations in the following terms:C. 15. Since an insolvency regime cannot fully protect the interests of all parties, some of the key policy choices to be made when designing an insolvency law relate to defining the broad goals of the law (rescuing businesses in financial difficulty, protecting employment, protecting the interests of creditors, encouraging the development of an entrepreneurial class) and achieving the desired balance between the specific objectives identified above. Insolvency laws achieve that balance by reapportioning the risks of insolvency in a way that suits a States economic, social and political goals. As such, an insolvency law can have widespread effects in the broader economy.Hence, once the requirements of the IBC have been fulfilled, the Adjudicating Authority and the Appellate Authority are duty bound to abide by the discipline of the statutory provisions. It needs no emphasis that neither the Adjudicating Authority nor the Appellate Authority have an unchartered jurisdiction in equity. The jurisdiction arises within and as a product of a statutory framework.42. In the present case, the resolution plan has been duly approved by a requisite majority of the CoC in conformity with Section 30(4). Whether or not some of the financial creditors were required to be excluded from the CoC is of no consequence, once the plan is approved by a 100 per cent voting share of the CoC. The jurisdiction of the Adjudicating Authority was confined by the provisions of Section 31(1) to determining whether the requirements of Section 30(2) have been fulfilled in the plan as approved by the CoC. As such, once the requirements of the statute have been duly fulfilled, the decisions of the Adjudicating Authority and the Appellate Authority are in conformity with law.