Interim status quo lifted; petitioner to pursue Section 7 application; RBI circular struck down for Indian banks

Writ petition disposed; the SC ended its interim status-quo order and directed the petitioner to pursue its Section 7 application before the NCLT. The Court clarified that the RBI circular is struck down insofar as Indian banks are concerned, and any NCLT proceedings by banks premised on that circular must cease in accordance with the SC's earlier judgment.

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The writ petition is disposed of: the "order of status quo ... has now come to an end" and the applicants may pursue their Section 7 application pending before the National Company Law Tribunal. The Court clarifies that, insofar as Indian banks are concerned, the Reserve Bank of India circular in question has been struck down; consequently, "proceedings by the said Banks in the National Company Law Tribunal based upon the Circular must, therefore, come to an end" in accordance with the Court's judgment dated 02.04.2019 in Dharani Sugars and Chemicals Ltd. v. Union of India and Ors. The practical effect is termination of the interim status quo order and confirmation that bank-initiated NCLT proceedings grounded solely on the invalidated RBI circular cannot continue.

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