The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal today issued notices to the resolution professional (RP) and Committee of Creditors (CoC) of Bhushan Steel over the plea filed by its operational creditor L&T seeking to recover Rs 961.56 crore from the debt ridden company.
NCLAT also impleaded Tata Steel, whose Rs 32,500 crore bid along with 12.27 per cent equity for Bhushan Steel has been approved, as party over L&T plea.
"Let notices be issued to CoC and RP. File their replies by May 28," said the NCLAT bench headed by Chairman Justice S J Mukhopadhaya.
The bench has directed that the matter be listed on May 30 for next hearing.
It has also directed the engineering and construction major to file certified copy of NCLT order, which had dismissed L&T plea seeking higher priority in settling of Bhushan Steel debt and imposed Rs 1 lakh cost on it.
On May 15, the the Principal bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) had approved the plan submitted by the RP of Bhushan Steel, which has found Tata Steel as the highest bidder.
The CoC had approved Rs 32,500 crore deal along with 12.27 per cent equity in the company offered by Tata Steel.
During the proceedings, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi appearing for L&T submitted that the operational creditors are getting nothing from Rs 32,500 crore offer from Tata Steel.
"Though RP admits our claims of Rs 500 crore but we would get nothing," he said, adding that "Rs 32,500 crore would be swallowed by the banks".
On May 15, NCLT had dismissed the plea of engineering and construction major L&T, an operational creditor of Bhushan Steel, which had requested for a higher preference in recovery of debt on par with the financial creditors of the corporate debtor.
The application "filed by Larsen & Tubro Ltd is dismissed with cost of Rs 1 lakh", NCLT had said adding that "the cost be deposited in the account of Bhushan Steel".
NCLT had said that it was well settled that any supplier of goods and service would fall within the meaning of expression operational creditor and claims made by L&T would amount to rewriting the provisions of the statue, which is an impossible proposition.
Moreover the tribunal had observed that there were "no documents placed on record showing any creation of charge or security warranting a view that the L&T should be regarded as a secured creditor".
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