High Court Reopens DGVCL Case for Recovery from AM/NS India
Strategic Research Institute
Published on :
1 Mar, 2023, 6:30 am
Hindustan Times has reported that the Gujarat High Court has set aside an order by a commercial court in Surat and ordered re-hearing in a matter where a Gujarat state power utility company Dakshin Gujarat Vij Company Limited has claimed dues to the tune of INR 5,882 crore from AM/NS India, formerly known as Essar Steel. Gujarat High Court Chief Justice Sonia Gokani and Justice Hemant N Prachchhak in an order dated 24 February said “The judgment of 28 September 2021 passed by the second additional senior civil judge, Surat is hereby quashed and set aside and the matter is remitted back to the concerned trial Court for re-hearing on merits. The trial court is directed to hear the suit on merits and in accordance with law and the same shall decide and dispose of as expeditiously as possible.”
Dakshin Gujarat Vij Company Limited in 2018 approached National Company Law Tribunal in Ahmedabad, opposing a resolution plan submitted by the resolution professional. The claim of the applicant was incorrectly determined by the interim resolution professional at INR 1. In its plea, DGVCL said its claim of INR 5,882 crore will stand extinguished if the tribunal approves the plan. It said AM/NS India’s Essar Steel bid does not consider contingent liabilities to debtors. Of the claims of INR 5,882 crore, DGVCL said INR 1,136 crore were towards cross-subsidy surcharge, INR 666 crore towards additional surcharge and INR 4,047.01 crore were for breach of minutes of meeting dated February 2010.
The Supreme Court in its judgment dated November 2019 approved the resolution plan submitted by ArcelorMittal in respect of the corporate insolvency resolution process of Essar Steel India Ltd, after considering the order of the National Company Law Tribunal, Ahmedabad bench and the order of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal. In November 2020, ArcelorMittal acquired the debt-ridden Essar Steel, which has a steel manufacturing facility at Hazira in Gujarat, after the Supreme Court approved the resolution plan it had submitted to the bankruptcy court.