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2021 (1) TMI 572 - HC - Insolvency and BankruptcyCriminal breach of trust and cheating - dishonest misappropriation and conversion of the assets and properties of M/S Meghalaya Infratech Pvt. Ltd. for its own purpose in violation of the provision of law - Illegal finalization of the resolution plan/bid forwarded by other bidders at a lower price - allegation against the petitioner was that the revised offer of resolution applicant, viz., the PPIPL was not considered or placed before the committee of the creditors and the committee of creditors approved the plan/bid of another resolution applicant, who was found to be the highest bidder - HELD THAT:- Admittedly the request of the respondent No. 2 for extension of time and the revised offer was rejected by the committee of creditors and the petition filed by the PPIPL to direct the petitioner to consider the revised offer of the respondent was also turned down by the learned NCLT, Guwahati Bench. In the instant case from the admitted facts as revealed from the order of NCLT, it is apparent that the NCLT directed the petitioner to resume the CIRP for taking a fresh decision by the committee of creditors regarding the resolution plan, and as such, there was no delivery of property. It is also evident from the record that on 14-02-2020 the e-mail was addressed by the PPIPL to all the members of the committee of the creditors regarding his revised offers and as such, there was also no question of deception by the petitioner. From the materials, it is apparent that though the revised offer of the PPIPL was not placed before the committee of the creditors, members of the committee of creditors were aware about the said offer, and as such, there was no question of deception or fraud practiced by the petitioner. The Hon'ble NCLT observed that the revised offer ought to have been placed before the committee. Such observation, per-se, can by no stretch of imagination be construed as motive or practicing fraud or deception on the part of the petitioner. Therefore, the ingredients to constitute an offence u/s 420 IPC is also absent in the FIR. Evidently the petitioner was discharging his official duty as per the direction of the NCLT under the provision of the Insolvency Code and the respondent No. 2 after exhausting all other forums to ventilate his grievance lodged the FIR only when a favorable order was passed by the NCLT. Therefore, the lodging of the FIR after exploring all the avenues and the facts and circumstances of the present case, as discussed hereinbefore, the FIR or the criminal proceeding appears to be attended mainly with the ulterior motive of wrecking vengeance on the accused petitioner - Petition disposed off.
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