NCLT adjourns insolvency case against Reliance Naval to Jan 18

The Ahmedabad bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Tuesday adjourned an insolvency case against the Anil Ambani-led Reliance Naval and Engineering Ltd to January 18.

The case had been earlier adjourned on grounds of Reliance Naval seeking time to approach the apex National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT). But, with a NCLAT hearing yet to happen, the ongoing case was adjourned till January 18.

Reliance Marine & Offshore Ltd, a subsidiary of Reliance Naval and its guarantor, failed to serve a ~600-million loan extended by IFCI, following which the lender approached the NCLT against both in midNovember.

IFCI had filed separate petitions in mid-November in the NCLT under Section 7 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) 2016 against defaulter Reliance Marine and its guarantor Reliance Naval. According to sources, IFCI is seeking to recover dues total worth over ~1.5 billion.

Earlier, in an official statement, Reliance Naval said, “As legally advised, there are no merits in the application filed by IFCI before NCLT, Ahmedabad, as it’s an unsecured creditor. The action of IFCI is unwarranted and premature. The 25 secured lenders of the company have also requested IFCI that the matter be resolved outside NCLT. The company will take all necessary steps to safeguard the interest of all the stakeholders.”

In December 2017, Reliance Naval had also filed an interim application with the NCLT seeking the ongoing hearing to be put in abeyance. Under the application, the firm had cited an ongoing case in the Gujarat High Court where a defaulter firm, Shivam Water Treaters, had challenged the constitutional validity of Section 7 of the IBC, which pertains to insolvency and winding up process under the new law.