The Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has approved the commencement of the liquidation process for Kishore Biyani-promoted Future Retail Ltd. NCLT allowed Vijaykumar V. Iyer's formal request to initiate the company's liquidation procedure. Iyer is responsible for the company's resolution process.
The division bench comprising Justice Kuldip Kumar Kareer and technical member Anil Raj Chellan appointed Sanjay Gupta as the liquidator. The decision came after the absence of any solution to revive the company and the expiration of the maximum period allowed for the corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP).
The bench headed by Justice Kuldip Kumar Kareer said, "It is evident that the maximum period of the CIRP has expired and no resolution plan has been approved by the CoC. We are of the considered opinion that this is a fit case for liquidation."
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Justice Kareer added in his order, "To maximise the value of the Corporate Debtor, the Liquidator shall endeavour the sale of the Corporate Debtor as a going concern under Regulation 32A clause (e) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (Liquidation Process) Regulation, 2016."
The expiration happened with no approved resolution plan approved by the Committee of Creditors (CoC). The company failed to pay its lenders. Following this in April 2022, the CoC filed an insolvency application against the company.
Future Retail Ltd has liabilities of around Rs 28,452 crore. Around Rs 17,000 crore consists of the claims of financial and operational creditors as per the Mint's report.
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"From a legal standpoint, the liquidation of Future Retail by the NCLT represents a critical enforcement of insolvency laws, underscoring the tribunal's role in addressing corporate financial distress," said Tushar Kumar, an independent counsel at the Supreme Court in the Mint's report.
