104-year-old PSU Bridge and Roof escapes insolvency after NCLAT quashes NCLT order

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on February 16 quashed an order of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) at Kolkata admitting a 104-year-old government-owned company into insolvency [Ravi Kumar v. Chevrox Constructions Ltd.]..The order was passed in an appeal filed by Ravi Kumar, part of the management of the company, Bridge and Roof Company (India) Limited, a public sector enterprise under the Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and comes under the administrative control of the Ministry of Heavy Industries.Kumar stated that the government company repaid the entire debt of ₹4 crores owed to Chevrox Constructions, the creditor, and hence the order initiating insolvency process against Bridge and Roof ought to be quashed. Chevrox Constructions also acknowledged the payment. In view of this, the NCLAT coram of chairman Justice Ashok Bhushan and technical member Barun Mitra quashed and set aside the NCLT order of February 9. .The case began after Chevrox Constructions, a private construction company based out of Ahmedabad, approached the Kolkata bench of NCLT seeking to initiate the corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) against Bridge and Roof for alleged default in payment of ₹4,47,90,393.The NCLT Kolkata on February 9 admitted the plea for insolvency observing that there was a clear debt and Bridge and Roof was in default in repayment of the same.It also appointed Subodh Kumar Agrawal as the interim resolution professional for the insolvency process..On appeal, the NCLAT set aside the NCLT order while also directing Bridge and Roof to pay 50% of the fees of the NCLT-appointed Interim Resolution Professional (IRP) within 2 weeks of the order. .Senior advocate Abhijit Sinha with advocates Nakul Mohta, Gursharan H Virk and Riya Dhingra appeared for Bridge and Roof. Advocates Malak Bhatt, Munjaal Bhatt, Neeha Nagpal and Mandeep Singh appeared for Chevrox Constructions. [Read Order]