The liquidation process is incomplete without fulfilling statutory obligations, including comprehensive financial reporting and resolution of pending litigations, preventing the discharge of the Liquidator.

ORDER

1. The I.A.No. 742 of 2021 in C.P (IB) No. 12/10/HDB/2017 has been filed by Mr. T. S. N. Raja, Liquidator of M/s. VNR Infrastructure Limited (in Liquidation) (Corporate Debtor / CD), seeking the following reliefs:

i) To give necessary direction authorizing SBI, the lead consortium member who was also authorized by the consortium in the SCC meeting held on 09.11.2021 to pursue all the pending litigations both at the NCLT and NCLAT.

ii) To give direction treating the process of liquidation as complete and relieve the applicant from the current assignment.

iii) To direct the landlord Mr. Ravinder Reddy to refund the rent deposit which he is postponing for more than a month.

Background

2. At the outset, we found that the material placed on record by the Applicant suffered from certain anomalies, discrepancies, and lack of clarity, which impeded effective adjudication of the present Application.

3. In order to facilitate proper and comprehensive consideration of the issues involved, the Liquidator was directed vide Order dated 27.05.2025 to place the following information on record:

“ (i) A comprehensive list of receivables, including retention money, security deposits, and pending contractual payments, along with beneficiary details.

(ii) Details of all pending and disposed of litigations concerning the CD.

(iii) List the status of the 89 projects, referred to in the e-auction notice and specific agreements, transferred to the Successful Bidder.

(iv) A full statement of accounts from the commencement of liquidation to date, with itemised receipts and disbursements.

(v) A distribution schedule and a detailed breakdown of the fee claimed and received.

(vi) A compliance report on all statutory filings with RoC, Income Tax, and GST Authorities from FY 2013–14 onwards.”

4. In compliance with the aforesaid directions, the Liquidator filed a Compliance Affidavit dated 25.06.2025. Replies to the said affidavit have also been filed by the Respondents.

5. Since the pleadings have already been recorded in detail in the Order dated 27.05.2025, the same are not being reproduced herein for the sake of brevity.

6. The parties have also filed their respective written submissions and advanced oral arguments in support of their contentions.

Findings

7. It is undisputed that the Liquidation Order in respect of the Corporate Debtor was passed on 21.09.2017. During the course of liquidation, the Corporate Debtor was sold as a going concern pursuant to an e-auction conducted on 09.03.2020 for a total consideration of ₹12,48,70,000/- in favour of Mr. Raja Kishore, Respondent No. 2. The sale was approved by this Authority on 07.07.2021. The assets proposed to be transferred included project credentials, arbitration receivables and 89 ongoing works in progress.

8. However, sale of the Corporate Debtor as a going concern does not ipso facto result in completion of liquidation. The statutory scheme under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC/Code) mandates that the Liquidator must:

• take custody and control of the entire liquidation estate;

• maintain complete and transparent accounts;

• realise and distribute assets strictly in accordance with Section 53 ;

• ensure closure or lawful transfer of pending litigations; and

• complete all statutory compliances prior to seeking dissolution The mere fact of transfer of assets to a successful bidder cannot substitute compliance with these mandatory statutory obligations.

9. In view of certain inconsistencies and deficiencies noticed in t