NCLT approves Reliance Big resolution plan as creditors get ₹3.5 crore of ₹483 crore debt

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) Mumbai Bench on Tuesday approved the resolution plan for Anil Ambani-owned Reliance Big Private Limited submitted by ACME Cleantech Solutions Private Limited..The plan outlines that financial creditors will receive a total of ₹3.5 crore against an admitted outstanding of ₹483.71 crore.This effectively results in a 99% reduction of the total admitted debt owed by the company to its secured financial creditors, leaving them with only a fraction of their original claims. Reliance Big owed a total of ₹999 crore to secured financial creditors Axis Trusteeship and JC Flower..The NCLT order passed by a bench of Justice (retired) GV Bisht and Prabhat Kumar said, “The Resolution Plan along with the Addendum thereto annexed to the Application is hereby approved.”.Incorporated in 2006, Reliance Big is engaged in the wind energy sector, supplying electricity to the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board. The company faced financial distress due to its inability to maintain the security cover as per the terms of the transaction documents related to the subscription of debentures. Consequently, the company was admitted to the corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) on August 18, 2023, following a petition filed by Axis Trustee Services.Rohit Ramesh Mehra was appointed as the Resolution Professional (RP) to oversee the CIRP. The RP invited expressions of interest (EoI) from prospective resolution applicants, and after a rigorous evaluation process, Manoj Kumar Upadhyay of ACME emerged as the successful resolution applicant (SRA)..The resolution plan, approved by the CoC, proposes the following:Total resolution amount: The plan involves an aggregate amount of ₹3.51 crore, with an upfront cash payment of ₹4 crore to be infused into Reliance Big. This amount will be used to cover unpaid CIRP costs, operational creditors' dues and other transaction costs.Operational creditors: The plan proposes a payment of ₹50,000 to operational creditors, with statutory dues amounting to ₹12.72 crore and other operational creditors' dues of ₹80.84 lakh.Secured financial creditors: The SRA proposes to pay ₹3.50 crore to secured financial creditors through non-convertible debentures, which will later be converted into equity shares of the corporate debtor.Unsecured financial creditors to get nothing: No payment is proposed for unsecured financial creditors, as they are related parties..After hearing the submissions and reviewing the compliance certificate filed by the RP, the NCLT observed that the resolution plan complies with the provisions of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) and does not contravene any laws. The Tribunal noted that the CoC, with a 100% voting share, approved the plan, deeming it viable and feasible for the revival of the corporate debtor.“This Bench observes in the present application that the CoC with requisite majority has approved to the Resolution Plan in the 13th CoC meeting and the Addendum to the Resolution Plan in the 17th CoC meeting with 100% voting share respectively, hence as per the CoC, the plan meets the requirements of being viable and feasible for the reviving the Corporate Debtor.".The NCLT, while approving the resolution plan, directed that it shall be binding on Reliance Big, its employees, creditors, guarantors and other stakeholders. However, the approval does not waive any statutory obligations or liabilities, which must be addressed by the appropriate authorities as per the law. The Memorandum of Association (MoA) and Articles of Association (AoA) of Reliance Big must be amended to reflect the changes outlined in the resolution plan. Additionally, the moratorium under Section 14 of the IBC will cease from the date of the order. The Resolution Professional (RP) is responsible for supervising the implementation of the resolution plan and must file quarterly status reports with the NCLT..The SRA was represented by Advocates Saurabh Bachhawat, Pooja Mahajan, Nishant Sogani and Shrishti Agnihotri from Chandhiok & Mahajan.The RP was represented by Advocates Deep Roy, Rishi Badraj and Dhawal S..[Read Judgment]