NCLT turns down Menon Bearings' plea in Gitanjali Gems case

An application, moved by Menon Bearings against the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) and Axis Bank, in the Gitanjali Gems case, was rejected by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in Mumbai.  Axis Bank is the main lender to Menon Bearings and its legal representative told the NCLT Bench that the bank had frozen the applicants’ accounts on May 4, following instructions from the Indian Bankers Association.
 
Senior Counsel Gaurav Joshi, appearing for the applicant company pleaded with the Tribunal to provide clarity on the different interpretations of the order, and that maybe a direction could be passed to the Bank so that Menon can access funds to meet its tax liabilities on time and make payments to its 500 employees.

 
Investigating officials have listed Menon Bearings in their petition given that the firm has one common independent director with Gitanjali Gems. Menon is among the 107 companies, along with subsidiaries of Gitanjali Gems and Firestar Diamond, listed in the MCAs petition as 'entities under investigation'.