NCLT Cuttack Rejects SREI Trust’s Bid To Recall OSPIL Insolvency Orders, Imposes ₹1 Lakh Cost For Abuse Of Process

NCLT Cuttack Rejects SREI Trust’s Bid To Recall OSPIL Insolvency Orders, Imposes ₹1 Lakh Cost For Abuse Of Process

Introduction

The National Company Law Tribunal, Cuttack Bench, dismissed a recall application filed by SREI Multiple Asset Investment Management Trust seeking to set aside the orders admitting Odisha Slurry Pipeline Infrastructure Ltd into the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) and approving its resolution plan.

A Bench comprising Acting President Deep Chandra Joshi and Technical Member Banwari Lal Meena held that the application amounted to an abuse of the legal process, as it attempted to reopen a resolution process that had attained finality and had already been upheld by the Supreme Court of India. The Tribunal consequently dismissed the application and imposed costs of ₹1 lakh on the applicant.

Factual Background

The insolvency proceedings against Odisha Slurry Pipeline Infrastructure Ltd. were initiated after the company was admitted into CIRP by the NCLT through an order dated May 14, 2019. Subsequently, the Tribunal approved a resolution plan submitted by ArcelorMittal India Pvt. Ltd. on March 2, 2020.

Under the approved resolution plan, ArcelorMittal India acquired OSPIL for approximately ₹2,350 crore. The resolution process was completed, and the plan was implemented after undergoing scrutiny and approval through the statutory appellate process.

Several years later, SREI Multiple Asset Investment Management Trust filed a recall application before the NCLT seeking to set aside both the admission order initiating CIRP and the subsequent order approving the resolution plan. The applicant alleged that the insolvency proceedings had been initiated through fraud, collusion, and suppression of material facts involving certain lenders and stakeholders.

Procedural Background

The Tribunal noted that the applicant had already exercised its statutory appellate remedies against the orders passed in the insolvency proceedings. The challenges to the CIRP admission and the resolution plan had earlier been raised before the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal. The NCLAT had dismissed those challenges through orders dated September 25, 2019, and January 18, 2022. Thereafter, the legality of the resolution plan was further upheld by the Supreme Court in SREI Infrastructure Finance Limited v. Ashish Chhawchharia & Ors. on November 10, 2022. Despite these decisions affirming the resolution process, the applicant approached the NCLT with the present recall application seeking to reopen the matter nearly three years after the resolution plan had attained finality.

Issues

1. Whether the NCLT could recall its earlier orders admitting a company into CIRP and approving a resolution plan after those orders had attained finality and been affirmed by appellate courts.

2. Whether the recall application constituted an abuse of the judicial process.

Contentions of the Parties

The applicant, SREI Multiple Asset Investment Management Trust, argued that the insolvency proceedings involving Odisha Slurry Pipeline Infrastructure Ltd. had been initiated through fraud, collusion, and suppression of material facts. It contended that these alleged irregularities justified the recall of both the admission order initiating CIRP and the subsequent order approving the resolution plan.

The respondents opposed the plea and argued that the insolvency proceedings had already undergone scrutiny through the appellate framework under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. They submitted that the challenges raised by the applicant had earlier been rejected by the NCLAT and the Supreme Court, and therefore the attempt to reopen the proceedings through a recall application was legally untenable and amounted to an abuse of the process of law.

Reasoning and Analysis

The Tribunal observed that the resolution plan had already attained finality after being upheld by the appellate authorities, including the Supreme Court. In such circumstances, allowing a recall application seeking to undo the completed resolution process would undermine the finality and certainty essential to the insolvency framework under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.

The Bench strongly criticised the conduct of the applicant, noting that the attempt to reopen the matter nearly three years after the resolution plan had been upheld reflected a misuse of judicial remedies. The Tribunal further remarked that during the course of proceedings the applicant had displayed a lackadaisical approach, which had earlier resulted in the imposition of costs of ₹50,000 on December 11, 2025.

The Bench held that the recall application was not only devoid of merit but also indicative of an attempt to disturb a successfully implemented resolution plan. It emphasised that the insolvency process is designed to ensure finality and timely resolution, and repeated attempts to reopen concluded proceedings would defeat the objectives of the Code.

Decision

The NCLT Cuttack Bench dismissed the recall application filed by SREI Multiple Asset Investment Management Trust seeking to recall the CIRP admission order and the resolution plan approval concerning Odisha Slurry Pipeline Infrastructure Ltd. Finding the application to be an abuse of the legal process, the Tribunal imposed costs of ₹1,00,000 on the applicant and directed that the amount be deposited in the PM Relief Fund within seven days.

In this case the appellant was represented by Senior Advocate Krishnaraj Thaker with Advocate Rupesh Kumar Kanungo.