A resolution plan is a legal proposal under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) aimed at rehabilitating a distressed company (corporate debtor) through restructuring or acquisition.
A bench comprising Justices J B Pardiwala and K V Viswanathan also highlighted the lack of manpower and infrastructure in NCLT benches nationwide on Wednesday.
The justices stated that this issue must be addressed urgently; otherwise, the intent behind the enactment of the IBC could be undermined.
They instructed that the matter be brought to the attention of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant for assignment to an appropriate bench.
The justices reviewed the report presented by the NCLT principal bench, indicating that 383 applications await approval of resolution plans nationwide, with delays ranging from over a month to more than 700 days.
The Supreme Court issued this order while hearing two petitions contesting a 2023 ruling by the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT).
During the hearing on April 16, the apex court noted that it was aware of numerous pending approval applications with the NCLT principal bench in New Delhi and other benches for several years.
It requested the NCLT principal bench to provide details on the pending approval applications, including how long they have been pending and the reasons for the delays.
The bench also included the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) as a party respondent in the proceedings.
It directed the IBBI to submit necessary data and statistics related to the court’s inquiries from across the country.
