Nishka Srinivas Veluvali
Published On: January 24, 2022 at 12:32 IST
The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has pronounced that once the Resolution Plan is approved by the Adjudicating Authority, it cannot be kept confidential.
The Bench of NCLAT Chairperson, Justice Ashok Bhushan and Dr. Ashok Kumar Mishra stated that, “However, added that even though the plan is not confidential after its approval but it cannot be made available to anyone who does not have a genuine claim or interest in the resolution process and therefore access to same can be denied in proper and appropriate cases”.
The Bench of NCLAT was considering an Appeal filed by the workmen of the Jet Airways who were the operational creditors and had filed claim. The Resolution Plan offered the workmen a total amount of Rs. 52 crores. They questioned the Order of Adjudicating Authority sanctioning the mentioned plan.
The main issue before the NCLAT was whether the workmen be entitled to the copy of the Resolution Plan or any part of it which had been approved by the Adjudicating Authority but still after approval was preserved as a confidential document.
The NCLAT taking note of all the submissions held that, “When Resolution Plan is submitted to the Adjudicating Authority with an Application to accept the Plan, the Application as well as Plan is on the record of the case or proceeding and then right to inspection is granted statutorily, we do not accept the submission of learned Counsel for the Respondents that Resolution Plan still remains confidential documents after it is made part of the record or proceeding of the Adjudicating Authority… When inspection is permitted of record of the Adjudicating Authority, obviously inspection can very well be made of the Resolution Plan, which is part of the proceedings before the Adjudicating Authority. Section 117 of the NCLT Rules, 2016 deals with ‘Mode of inspection’. Sub-rule (3) of Rule 117 provides that note of any record can also be taken in pencil by a person inspecting the record”.
The NCLAT noted that almost more than 20,000 operational creditors and several applicants were denied the copy of the Resolution Plan after it was approved by the Adjudicating Authority.
Thus, the stated that, “The Resolution Plan cannot be supplied to be Appellant, they are entitled to the party of the plan which related to the workmen and employees. Therefore, it directed the respondent to provide the relevant portion of the plan to the Appellants within three weeks.”