The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Friday said that it will recommend to the Centre to appoint a retired Supreme Court judge for supervising the ongoing asset sale by debt-laden Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Ltd (IL&FS).
A two-member NCLAT bench, headed by chairperson Justice SJ Mukhopadhaya, also ordered IL&FS to submit details of all ongoing arbitration proceedings against the company and its subsidiaries.
“As it appears that a process required to be followed, similar to corporate insolvency resolution process, for the purpose of proper resolution of IL&FS and its subsidiaries,” NCLAT said.
“Appellate Tribunal will suggest to government and IL&FS to get matter supervised by a retired SC Judge,” it added.
The matter will be next heard on January 28.
IL&FS has already initiated the process to sell some of its assets including the domestic roads vertical housed under its subsidiary, IL&FS Transportation Networks Ltd (ITNL) inviting more than 30 suitors.
It had also invited EoIs for four under-construction road projects, which would aggregate approximately 1,736 lane km upon completion, and three other assets and businesses, which are the EPC and O&M businesses of IL&FS Transportation Networks Ltd, and a Sports Complex in Thiruvananthapuram.
Government-owned firms, including Life Insurance Corp of India and State Bank of India, own nearly 40 per cent of the company.
Japan’s Orix Corp has a 23 per cent stake and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority 12 per cent.
Apart from Union Bank, its other Indian lenders include State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Punjab National Bank, among others.