NCLAT stays insolvency proceedings of RHC Holding
The appellate tribunal has directed to list Daiichi Sankyo's appeal on July 20 for the next hearing
High Courts clears decks for PwC to sue Ramalainga Raju
New Delhi: The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has stayed the insolvency proceedings against RHC Holding, an entity promoted by former promoters of erstwhile Ranbaxy and Fortis Healthcare.
RHC Holding is promoted by brothers - Shivinder Singh and Malvinder Singh. A two-member NCLAT bench had admitted an appeal filed by Daiichi Sankyo against an order passed by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) directing initiating the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) against RHC Holding. The New Delhi bench of NCLT, on May 13, had passed the order against RHC Holding over a plea filed by its financial creditor Religare Comtrade Ltd. The NCLAT said submissions raised by counsel for the parties "need consideration" and issued notices, directing them to file their replies within three weeks.
The appellate tribunal has directed to list Daiichi Sankyo's appeal on July 20 for the next hearing. "In the meantime, the impugned order dated May 13, 2022 (by NCLT) shall remain stayed," the NCLAT said in its interim order on June 3. Daiichi Sankyo in its appeal said there was an award passed by a tribunal in Singapore on April 29, 2016. As per the award, RHC Holding as well as other companies had to make payments to the Japanese company. On January 31, 2018, the Delhi High Court upheld the Rs 3,500 crore arbitral award passed in the favour of Daiichi Sankyo and paved the way for enforcement of the 2016 tribunal award against the brothers who had sold their shares in Ranbaxy to Daiichi in 2008 for Rs 9,576.1 crore. Later, Sun Pharmaceuticals Ltd acquired Ranbaxy from Daiichi Sankyo. Daiichi Sankyo submitted before the NCLAT that Religare Comtrade Ltd has filed an application under Section 7 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) to initiate CIRP against RHC Holding.
According to the Japanese company, the applicant along with other concerns has filed 23 insolvency proceedings against different entities to defeat its claim and that the Supreme Court of India had passed an interim order on April 5, 2019, in the matter. The Supreme Court had stayed all proceedings before the NCLT filed under Section 7, whereby all 23 proceedings, including the proceedings initiated by the Religare Comtrade Ltd, were also stayed, as per Daiichi Sankyo. "It is submitted that the Section 7 application filed in March 2022 was another attempt to bail out the corporate debtor (RHC Holding) from its liability and it is submitted that in the proceedings under Section 7, the corporate debtor neither appeared nor contested the proceedings whereas the adjudicating authority has admitted the application," Daiichi Sankyo told the NCLAT.
