State-run Gail NSE 0.92 % India has approached the bankruptcy court to include its claim of around Rs 390 crore in the insolvency resolution process of Videocon NSE 0.00 % Industries.
The natural gas transportation and distribution company has approached the Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) after the resolution professional of Videocon rejected its claim.
“There was already a dispute between Gail and Videocon and it was in arbitration,” argued Akshat Khare, partner of law firm Moson Le Exparts, who was appearing for Gail. However, soon after the admission of the insolvency petition, the moratorium period to legal proceedings against the company started and so the arbitration also got stayed, he said.
MK Shrawat, a judicial member of the NCLT, asked Videocon’s resolution professional (RP), Anuj Jain of KPMG, to file his reply by June 10, and gave Gail until June 17 to file its rejoinder. The tribunal will hear the matter further on July 8. “Earlier, in a similar development, the RP of Essar steel, as well as Alok Industries, had also rejected the claim of Gail but after it contested in the NCLT, respective tribunals had directed the resolution professionals of those companies to include Gail’s claim as an operational creditor,” Khare argued.
Jain didn’t respond to an email seeking comment until press time Wednesday.
