Application for Bank Guarantee Extension Disposed, Directions Issued to Banks

The application filed by Gail India Ltd. against the Resolution Professional (RP) and United Bank of India regarding an expiring bank guarantee was disposed of after the RP assured to extend the validity of the bank guarantee until 31.03.2020. Additionally, directions were issued against five banks listed in the application to extend the validity period of the bank guarantees by three months, with instructions not to encash them until the next hearing scheduled for 08.01.2020.

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Issues Involved:
Application for directions against RP and United Bank of India regarding expiring bank guarantee. Directions against five banks listed in the application for extending validity of bank guarantees.

Analysis:

Issue 1: Application for directions against RP and United Bank of India regarding expiring bank guarantee.

The present application was filed by Gail India Ltd. seeking directions against the Resolution Professional (RP) and United Bank of India concerning an expiring bank guarantee executed by the corporate debtor. The learned counsel for the applicant emphasized the urgency of the matter as the bank guarantee was set to expire on 31.12.2019. In response, the RP, represented by Mr. Ganda, assured that appropriate steps would be taken to extend the validity of the bank guarantee by three months until 31.03.2020. Consequently, the application was disposed of based on this assurance.

Issue 2: Directions against five banks listed in the application for extending validity of bank guarantees.

In a related matter, Mr. Ganda, representing the RP, requested directions against the five banks listed in the application to extend the validity period of the bank guarantees. The counsel for the RP confirmed that all necessary steps had been taken to ensure the extension of the expiry date of the bank guarantees mentioned in the application. As a result, all five banks were directed not to encash the bank guarantees until the next date of hearing. It was explicitly stated that the validity of the bank guarantees in question would be extended by three months. Furthermore, notices were to be issued to the non-applicants-respondents through dasti process, with the case scheduled for a hearing on 08.01.2020.

This comprehensive analysis covers the key issues addressed in the legal judgment, detailing the actions taken by the parties involved and the directions provided by the Tribunal to ensure the proper extension and handling of expiring bank guarantees.

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