Earnest money guarantees furnished by scheme proponents in a...

Earnest money guarantees furnished by scheme proponents in a liquidation process cannot be recovered merely because the proponent withdraws after its proposed scheme is not accepted. The guarantee secures submission of the proponent's own scheme and does not require submission of a scheme meeting the satisfaction of the stakeholders' committee or Adjudicating Authority. Commercial considerations and delay may justify a decision not to continue participating. Without an established legal basis imposing liability, withdrawal does not permit recovery of the guarantee for the liquidation estate. The direction requiring deposit of the earnest money guarantee into the liquidation estate was therefore set aside.