High Court clarifies impact of NCLT order on pending writ petition challenging "Expression of Interest" decisions.

The High Court addressed an appeal against an interlocutory order allowing an existing "Expression of Interest" to proceed. The court noted that the NCLT's previous order would not affect cases where such expressions had already been issued. The appellant challenged the NCLT's order through a pending writ petition, which the court directed the single judge to hear and dispose of. The court upheld the stay on the NCLT's order and instructed for the writ petition to be finalized, maintaining the effectiveness of the interim order until resolution.

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Issues:
Interlocutory order allowing existing "Expression of Interest" to progress further.
Challenge against the order dated 05.09.2018 passed by the NCLT.
Stay on the operation of the NCLT order dated 05.09.2018.
Need for final decision on the pending writ petition.
Direction for the writ petition to be heard and disposed of.
Continuation of the interim order passed by the Division Bench.

Analysis:
The High Court addressed an appeal against an interlocutory order dated 26.09.2018, which permitted the existing "Expression of Interest" issued by the Resolution Professional (RP) to advance. The learned single judge also noted that the NCLT's order of 05.09.2018 in the matter of State Bank of India vs. Su Kam Power Systems Ltd would not hinder cases where "Expression of Interest" had already been issued by the RPs. The appellant challenged the NCLT's 05.09.2018 order through a writ petition (W.P.(C) No.10189/2018), which is pending before the single judge for adjudication.

The record revealed that a previous Bench had stayed the operation of the NCLT's 05.09.2018 order on 05.10.2018. Consequently, Regulation 36A of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (Insolvency Resolution Process for Corporate Persons) Regulations, 2016 remained in effect. The High Court determined that the writ petition required a final decision and directed the single judge to hear and dispose of the pending case.

As a result, the appeal was disposed of, with an instruction for the single judge to proceed with the writ petition for final disposal. The interim order issued by the Division Bench on 05.10.2018 would continue to be effective until the writ petition was resolved. Any pending applications were deemed closed as a consequence of this judgment.

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