Reliance Capital Insolvency Case: Torrent likely to mention plea on Monday

The Torrent Group is expected to raise its plea before the Supreme Court (SC) on Monday for an urgent hearing, as the Committee of Creditors (CoC) for the insolvent Reliance Capital Ltd is scheduled to hold the second round of bidding on that date.

According to a CNBC report, Torrent Group is anticipated to file a petition for a stay of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal's (NCLAT) ruling in favour of Reliance Capital lenders. The company is also likely to make an urgent appeal based on the second round of auction that is scheduled for March 20. NCLAT has overturned NCLT's order and permitted CoC to hold an extended auction. On December 21, 2022, the initial bidding process came to a close. Torrent Investments had made the highest bid of ₹8,640 crore, but Hinduja Group afterwards submitted a bid that was even higher at ₹8,950 Cr.

As per the rules of the extended challenge mechanism, the minimum threshold or the bid starting value has been pegged at ₹9,500 crore, with the subsequent round rising to ₹10,000 crore and by ₹250 crore in any round that follows. This compares the minimum threshold value of ₹6,500 crore in the first round that concluded on December 21. According to the sources, the committee of creditors (COC) is expecting to realise an upward of ₹10,000 crore from the extended challenge mechanism.

The extended challenge mechanism will also have a threshold of a minimum cash upfront payment of ₹8,000 crore for the bidders, sources said. In order to collect roughly ₹40,000 crore in unpaid loans, corporate bankruptcy proceedings were started against Reliance Capital in November 2021.

(With inputs from PTI)