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2020 (11) TMI 28 - HC - Companies LawExtension of benefit of moratorium - Repayment of Term Loan - HELD THAT:- The Petitioner has filed an interim intervention application before NCLAT. The Petitioner sought a declaration that the Petitioner does not owe the ₹ 100 crores as claimed by the Respondent to them. The prayers are to modify the order of embargo, to refrain IFIN from taking any steps regarding Loan Agreement No.III, discharge the Petitioner from loan agreement No.III. In this application, the Petitioner has narrated the history, and the same assertion is made that the Petitioner placed full trust and confidence in the senior management of IL & FS. It is asserted that the facility sanctioned in favour of the Petitioner by IFIN was at the request of IFIN, and it was availed for a private loan to ITNL. Several parties are appearing before NCLAT and NCLT. Application filed by other entities for lifting the grant of the moratorium was rejected by the NCLAT by detailed order on 12 March 2020. Petitioner's application is still pending in NCLAT, and it is not rejected. If it is rejected, the Petitioner can challenge the rejection. The petitioner contends that the writ petition be entertained and merely because there is a fraud by IF& LS group the Court should not proceed on the basis that the Petitioner is guilty. It is contended that there is nothing against the Petitioner as on date and the assertion of the Petitioner that the Petitioner was innocent third party needs to be accepted and direction to grant moratorium should be given - Though the Petitioner has urged that the Petitioner is not seeking clean chit from the Court, indirectly, the Petitioner is doing the same. The mismanagement of IL & FS group is looked into by NCLT and NCLAT. SFIO is conducting its own investigation. The proceedings before us do not arise from the investigation carried out by SFIO nor from the orders passed by NCLAT. We do not have the inputs from the investigating agency. Based on the documents placed before us, the Petitioner wants us to uphold it’s innocence. The new Board of Directors’ on 28 January 2019 appointed External Auditors to examine the loan given by the superseded Board. The interim report by the Forensic Auditor on 20 February 2019 has indicated that loans of approximately ₹ 2270 Crores were routed to the group companies with third parties like the Petitioner. A prerogative writ is not granted as a matter of course. The Writ Court intervenes where justice, equity, and good conscience require its intervention. Considering the totality of the circumstances, the simplistic foundation of the Petitioner's case cannot be accepted - Petition dismissed.
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