The National Company Law Tribunal, Bengaluru Bench, has formally terminated the liquidation proceedings against M/s. Alpine Wineries Private Limited, marking a significant development in the company's corporate recovery. The order, delivered on October 12, 2026, by a Bench comprising Judicial Member Shri Sunil Kumar Aggarwal and Technical Member Shri Radhakrishna Sreepada, allows the corporate debtor to exit the rigors of liquidation after successfully settling its outstanding financial dues. The decision effectively paves the way for the restoration of the company’s management and the potential resumption of its manufacturing operations.

The ruling follows an application filed by Mr. Raghavendra Gowda, an erstwhile director and shareholder of the company, under Section 60(5) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, read with Rule 11 of the National Company Law Tribunal Rules, 2016. The Tribunal’s decision to allow the withdrawal of the liquidation process was predicated on the fact that the company’s primary financial creditors—Pridhvi Asset Reconstruction and Securitization Company Limited and the Jammu and Kashmir Bank—had received full payment under agreed One-Time Settlement arrangements. With these substantial debts extinguished, the Tribunal determined that continuing the liquidation would no longer serve the interests of the creditors or the objectives of the law.

Restoration of Corporate Management

The Tribunal’s order mandates that the Liquidator, Shri Ravindranath Narayana Rao, must hand over the custody, control, and management of the company’s remaining assets, properties, and records to its erstwhile Board of Directors. This transfer is to be executed against proper receipts, with a final liquidation report to be submitted to the Tribunal within one month. While the liquidator will be discharged from his core assignment after this period, he remains obligated to assist the restored management in finalizing statutory returns and representing the company in matters arising from the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) and liquidation periods.

The judicial members emphasized that the purpose of the Code extends beyond mere recovery, highlighting that the preservation of a functional commercial entity is a key objective. As noted in the order: “The primary focus of the Code is to ensure revival and continuation of the Corporate Debtor, with liquidation being a measure of last resort.” The Tribunal further reasoned that forcing a liquidation where the debt has been satisfied would be antithetical to the goal of value maximization. The Bench observed: “We cannot remain shackled with the procedural paradigm and lead the Corporate Debtor to doom and getting its tangible/intangible assets wiped off as against retaining its corporate entity.”

Settlement Process and Creditor Support

The resolution of the dispute involved a series of negotiations that took place during the liquidation phase. The Applicant successfully entered into One-Time Settlements (OTS) with the company’s two financial creditors. Jammu and Kashmir Bank received the agreed-upon sum of Rs. 10 crore and issued a formal No-Dues Certificate, while Pridhvi Asset Reconstruction and Securitization Company Limited accepted Rs. 39 crore as a full and final settlement of its claims.

In the 69th meeting of the Stakeholders’ Consultation Committee held on July 11, 2026, the financial creditors confirmed that their dues had been discharged. Notably, neither the financial creditors nor any operational creditors expressed opposition to the termination of the liquidation process. The Liquidator maintained a neutral stance, reporting all developments transparently to the Committee and leaving the final decision on the company’s revival to the discretion of the Adjudicating Authority. This lack of resistance from the creditor body was a critical factor in the Tribunal’s decision to exercise its inherent powers.

Statutory Compliance and Future Obligations

Despite the termination of the liquidation, the Tribunal underscored that the restoration of the company does not provide a blanket immunity for its past liabilities. The order includes several stringent conditions intended to protect the interests of other stakeholders, including operational creditors and statutory authorities. The restored Board of Directors is legally bound to clear all admitted liabilities that were verified during the CIRP and liquidation stages within a period of three months.

Furthermore, the company is required to complete all outstanding statutory and tax filings within the same three-month timeframe. A specific caveat was also added regarding the company's current inventory: the management is prohibited from releasing the existing stock of wine for human or animal consumption without first obtaining clearance reports from at least two independent laboratories. These directions ensure that the revival process operates within the bounds of safety and regulatory compliance.

The Tribunal clarified that this ruling does not extinguish the legitimate legal claims of any party against the corporate debtor. The termination of the proceedings, therefore, acts as a return to active corporate status rather than a release from all legal obligations. By choosing to permit the company's revival under these controlled conditions, the NCLT has signaled a pragmatic approach to cases where the core debt has been settled, prioritizing the preservation of corporate infrastructure and business potential over the finality of liquidation. The case now transitions into a period of administrative handover, where the erstwhile management must fulfill its commitments to creditors and tax authorities to ensure the long-term viability of the restored corporate entity.