NCLAT allowed the appeal and set aside the impugned AA order...

NCLAT allowed the appeal and set aside the impugned AA order directing reversal of Rs.1,58,59,294 margin money to the CD. The Tribunal held the margin deposit, held as an earmarked trust to secure BGs and appropriated upon invocation by the beneficiary prior to initiation of CIRP, was not an asset of the CD under the IBC and did not attract the moratorium under s.14. The Bank's appropriation pursuant to the Facility Agreement was therefore lawful. Further, because the Bank's verified claim formed part of an approved resolution plan, the AA exceeded its jurisdiction in attempting to alter the plan's terms; the direction for reversal was struck down.

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