The battle for Essar Steel hotted up on Wednesday as bidders ArcelorMittal and Numetal argued to get each other disqualified from the auction.
After the day-long hearing by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), representatives of resolution professional (RP), the committee of creditors (CoC) and ArcelorMittal prayed for early opening of the rebids submitted on April 2.
Senior counsels Mukul Rohatgi and Janak Dwarkadas, appearing for Numetal, objected to ArcelorMittal’s attempt to absolve itself by merely selling its shares in Uttam Galva and KSS Petron, the two defaulting companies, and said it had to clear the debtsbefore participating in the Essar Steel bidding .
Numetal claimed that with a 26 per cent stake in KSS Petron through KSS Global, ArcelorMittal had control over the defaulter firm. According to Section 29 (A) of the Insolvency Code, defaulting promoters are disqualified from bidding.
ArcelorMittal, on the other hand, made submissions on its severed ties with the defaulting Uttam Galva and KSS Petron before the cut-off date of February 12. Senior counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi argued that Numetal had failed to do so and hence should be disqualified.
The Bench asked to continue the hearing on Thursday.