On May 24, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) upheld Suraksha Realty Limited’s resolution plan for Jaypee Infratech Limited as part of its Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) [Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority v. Monitoring Committee of Jaypee Infratech]
The bench, comprising Chairperson Justice Ashok Bhushan and technical member Barun Mitra, directed Suraksha Realty to pay ₹1,334.31 crore to the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) over the next four years. This payment is intended to facilitate an increase in land compensation for farmers.
The appellate tribunal noted that this directive would help implement the resolution plan. “To conclude the process and address YEIDA’s claim, justice will be served by paving the way for the resolution plan’s implementation. Directing Jaypee to pay 79% of YEIDA’s secured claim of ₹1689 crores (₹1334.31 crores) ensures Suraksha’s Resolution Plan is compliant and deserving of approval,” the NCLAT stated.
This decision came in response to YEIDA’s appeal against the rejection of its objections to Suraksha’s resolution plan, which had been approved by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) at Allahabad.
Jaypee Infratech entered insolvency proceedings after failing to deliver apartments in a housing project along the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway. Homebuyers and other financial creditors sought insolvency proceedings against Jaypee at the Allahabad NCLT.
The housing project stemmed from a concession agreement between Jaypee and YEIDA to construct a six-lane expressway and commercially utilize over 6,000 acres of adjacent land. During Jaypee’s insolvency, YEIDA submitted claims to the resolution professional, while the Committee of Creditors approved Suraksha’s resolution plan. YEIDA’s objections were rejected by the NCLT, prompting their appeal to the NCLAT.
YEIDA sought protection of its interests for dues intended for public use. The NCLAT reasoned that YEIDA was a secured creditor and that additional compensation for farmers was part of the concession agreement with Jaypee. Consequently, YEIDA was entitled to receive ₹1,689 crore from Jaypee’s successful resolution applicant, Suraksha, as additional compensation for farmers.
“We have acknowledged YEIDA as a secured operational creditor regarding the additional farmers’ compensation of ₹1689 crores. Financial Creditors under the Resolution Plan are proposed to receive 79% of their secured dues. Therefore, for additional farmers’ compensation, YEIDA is entitled to 79% of its claim, amounting to ₹1334.31 crores. Jaypee has offered to pay ₹1216 crores, necessitating an additional amount of ₹118.31 crores,” the appellate tribunal’s order stated.
Additional Solicitor General N Venkataraman, Senior Advocate Gopal Jain, and Advocates Amar Gupta, Aniket Aggarwal, Divyam Aggarwal, Mohit Sharma, and Rijul Uppal represented YEIDA. Advocates Sumant Batra, Sanjay Bhatt, Nidhi Yadav, Apoorva Chowdhury, and Sarthak Bhandari represented Jaypee’s monitoring committee.
Senior Advocates Mukul Rohatgi, Krishnendu Datta, Rajshekhar Rao, P Nagesh, along with Advocates Mahesh Agarwal, Geetika Sharma, Sagar Bansal, Eshna Kumar, Akshay Sharma, Shivam Shorewala, Srishti Kaul, Harish Nadda, Vikalp Singh, Kumar Shashank, Rishab Singh, Shashank Shekhar Shukla, Deepanwita Chakraborty, Arun Yadav, Anant Singh, and Abhishek Sharma represented Suraksha Realty.
Advocates Akshat Hansaria, Amit Kumar Mishra, Mitaksara Goyal, Shivam Singh, Gaurav Mitra, Ishan Roy Choudhary, and Chitranshul Sinha appeared for the homebuyers. Senior Advocate M Krishnan Venugopal, along with Advocates Anupam Choudhary, Sarvesh Mehra, Avinash Mathews, and Krishan Agarwal, briefed by Sai Prakash Associates, appeared for intervenors. Senior Advocate S Niranjan Reddy, with Advocates Raunak Dhillon, Aishwarya Gupta, Ashutosh Singh, and Nityesh Dadhich, represented the National Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd (NARCL). Advocates Abhishek Verma, Anant Singh, Arun Yadav, Sumesh Dhawan, Shaurya Shyam, Vatsala Kak, and Parul Sharma appeared for other intervenors.
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