Comments
After a series of unsuccessful attempts to revive RTIL — (formerly Reid & Taylor (India) Ltd) — National Company Law Tribunal’s (NCLT) Mumbai bench has ordered the liquidation of the beleaguered textile major.
Passing its order on Tuesday, a bench comprising Bhaskar Pantulu Mohan and V Nallasenapathy said it had no option but to put the company into liquidation as the suitors have failed to satisfy their net-worth.
“We call upon the registrar and the resolution professional to put in their best efforts to ensure that the company is sold as a going-concern. This bench had honest intentions to prevent the company from going into liquidation, protect employees and save creditors including public sectors who had put in public money to get back maximum returns,” the NCLT bench, pronouncing the order, said.
A detailed order will be passed soon, it added.
“The only option now is to move the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal in Delhi. In the meantime, a liquidator will be appointed,” Daizy Chawla, Senior Partner at Singh & Associates, a legal firm, said.
Last week, a new investor New Delhi-based Indian Gas informed NCLT’s Mumbai bench of its decision to bid for the beleaguered company. However, at its hearing today, the firm failed to prove its net-worth. Earlier, Gujarat-based CFM Asset Reconstruction (CFM ARC), which had submitted ₹2 crore as partial Earnest Money Deposit (EMD), withdrew from the race.
On February 1, NCLAT had directed the NCLT to complete the proceedings in RTIL issue within two weeks. This was in view of the mandatory 270-day deadline provided to complete a resolution process under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, which in the RTIL case had expired on January 1.
UK-based Boustead Plc and Hong Kong-based SPGP Holdings (HK) had also staked claim, but later withdrew.
In December 2018, nearly 200 employees of RTIL formed an association to scout for potential investors and revive the company, and prevent it from being liquidated.
RTIL, a premium clothing provider that sells under the international brand ‘Reid & Taylor’ in India, is struggling to pay off its ₹3,800-crore debt. It still runs a factory with about 30-40 per cent production capacity in Mysuru, and employs about 1,200 personnel and another 200-250 contract labourers. It also has about 1,000-1,500 dealers across the country.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.