Liquidation challenge becomes infructuous after going-concern sale closes proceedings

Once the corporate debtor was sold as a going concern and the liquidation proceedings were subsequently closed, the earlier order directing commencement of liquidation lost practical effect. The appellate challenge could not be examined on merits because the relief sought had become academic. The appeals were therefore treated as infructuous and dismissed.

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Issues: Whether the appeals challenging the liquidation order survived after the corporate debtor had been sold as a going concern and the liquidation proceedings had been closed.

Analysis: The liquidation proceedings had already been closed by a later order on the ground that the corporate debtor had been sold as a going concern, and the liquidator had been relieved of duties. In that situation, the order under challenge, which had directed commencement of liquidation, no longer had practical significance. The appeals therefore did not call for adjudication on the merits and had become infructuous.

Conclusion: The challenge to the liquidation order could not be pursued and the appeals were dismissed as infructuous.

Ratio Decidendi: Once liquidation proceedings are closed because the corporate debtor has been sold as a going concern, an appeal against the earlier liquidation order becomes infructuous.

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