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2023 (1) TMI 813 - AT - Insolvency and BankruptcySeeking consideration of Revised Resolution Plan after receipt of Resolution Plan - whether after closure of Challenge Process on 15.07.2022 and consequent receipt of Resolution Plan by 18.07.2022, the Adjudicating Authority could have directed for consideration of the revised plan submitted by the Respondent No.2 thereafter? - HELD THAT:- Clause 7 of the Challenge Process clearly contemplates that after conclusion of the Challenge Process, the eligible Resolution Applicants shall not revise their bid/commercial offer. It is relevant to notice that Challenge Process also reserves the unconditional right of the CoC to cancel/ modify/ withdraw/ abandon/ amend the process of the Challenge Process at any stage. The approval of the plan submitted in CIRP is in the domain of the CoC. Under Regulation 39 of the CIRP Regulations, the Committee is entitled to record its deliberation and vote on such Resolution Plan simultaneously. Challenge Process also reserves the unconditional right of the CoC to cancel/ modify/ withdraw/ abandon/ amend the process of the Challenge Process. After revised offer was received from Respondent No.2, the said factum was brought into the notice of the CoC in its 15th CoC meeting held on 25.07.2022. In 15th and 16th CoC meeting, CoC deliberated how to proceed further. Suggestions were also received that NCLT be approached for permitting modification. The present is a case where CoC did not finally took any decision to permit the Respondent No.2 to revise its bid after close of Challenge Process. CoC ultimately in the 17th CoC meeting held on 03.08.2022 in spite of earlier suggestions received in the earlier CoC meeting proposing different course of action decided to vote all the Resolution Plans received in the process. It is well settled that the timeline in the IBC has its salutary value and it was the wisdom of the CoC which decided to vote on the Resolution Plan after completion of Challenge Process and not to proceed to take any further negotiation or further modification of the plan, that decision ought not to have been interfered with. The Application was filed by the Respondent No.2 on 07.08.2022 by which date CoC has already decided to resolve the vote on all the plans and voting has also commenced w.e.f. 07.08.2022. On going through the whole Application filed by the Respondent No.2, it is found that there is not even mention of the fact that voting has already commenced w.e.f. 07.08.2022. The Adjudicating Authority without there being any valid reason ought not to have been interfered with the voting on the Resolution Plans which had already commenced w.e.f. 07.08.2022. As result of the order of the Adjudicating Authority the process of voting which had commenced on 07.08.2022 was abandoned by the Resolution Professional - the order passed by the Adjudicating Authority dated 11.08.2022 is unsustainable and deserves to be set aside. CoC having already resolved to vote on all the Resolution Plans including the Resolution Plan submitted by the Appellant and the Respondent No.2 which voting process having commenced and was disrupted due to impugned order, the voting process in pursuance of the CoC decision dated 03.08.2022 may commence afresh and be completed in a time bound manner. Appeal allowed.
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