National Company Law Appellate Tribunal Impleads SEBI As A Party In Plea Filed By RIL In Alok Industries Delisting Issue

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has impleaded the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) as a party in a petition filed by Reliance Industries Ltd.

RIL has sought a waiver in the delisting procedure for Alok Industries.

Accordingly, the NCLAT bench has issued notice to the SEBI as a pro forma respondent in the matter.

It may be recalled that RIL had taken over the debt-ridden Alok Industries after the Ahmedabad bench of National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approved its Rs 5,050-crore resolution plan in March.

The NCLT, however, did not considered RIL's plea to grant exemptions in delisting and the matter has been now brought before the NCLAT.

The NCLAT has also directed the resolution professional and the Committee of Creditors (CoC) of Alok Industries to file their reply affidavit shortly and a rejoinder, if any.

Earlier, the NCLAT had directed to list the matter on October 15, 2019 for admission of RIL's plea.

Incidentally, Alok Industries was in the first list of 12 companies issued by the Reserve Bank of India in 2017 for initiating insolvency proceedings.

In 2018, SEBI had relaxed requirements to comply with delisting norms for companies facing insolvency proceedings if the resolution plan laid down a procedure to delist that particular entity from the exchanges.

SEBI had stated that norms pertaining to delisting of equity shares would not be applicable to any entity getting delisted pursuant to a resolution plan approved under the IBC.