# Committee of Creditors of Essar Steel India Limited Through Authorised Signatory Vs. Satish Kumar Gupta & Ors. Civil Appeal No. 8766-67 of 2019 and Ors.

> SC judgment dated 2019-11-15. Citation: TCN-2019-SC-00011. The case involves appeals and writ petitions challenging the approval of resolution plans by the…

- **Court:** SC
- **Order date:** 15 Nov 2019
- **Citation:** TCN-2019-SC-00011
- **Category:** IBC
- **Source page:** https://caseease.in/cases/ibc/supreme-court-of-india/committee-of-creditors-of-essar-steel-india-limited-through-authorised-signatory-be24024b

## Summary

### Background

The case involves appeals and writ petitions challenging the approval of resolution plans by the Committee of Creditors (CoC) under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), 2016, specifically concerning Essar Steel India Limited. The constitutional validity of Sections 4 and 6 of the IBC (Amendment) Act, 2019, is also challenged. The case arises from the aftermath of a previous Supreme Court judgment and involves disputes regarding the roles of resolution applicants, resolution professionals, and the jurisdiction of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT).

## Facts

On 02.08.2017, the NCLT, Ahmedabad admitted Company Petition (I.B.) No. 39 of 2017 filed by Standard Chartered Bank together with a Petition filed by the State Bank of India under Section 7 of the Code. Satish Kumar Gupta was appointed as the interim resolution professional, who was later confirmed as resolution professional. On 06.10.2017, the resolution professional invited expressions of interest from resolution applicants for rehabilitating Essar Steel India Limited. On 24.12.2017, the resolution professional issued a request for proposal (RFP). On 12.02.2018, ArcelorMittal and Numetal submitted plans, but were found ineligible under Section 29-A of the Code. On 02.04.2018, resolution plans were submitted by ArcelorMittal, Numetal and Vedanta Limited.

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## Issues and analysis

### Issue 1: Whether the NCLAT's judgment, which substitutes its wisdom for the commercial wisdom of the …

**Ratio:** The commercial wisdom of the Committee of Creditors is paramount in approving resolution

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**Reasoning:** The Supreme Court emphasized that the NCLAT cannot substitute its judgment for the

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**Interpretation:** The IBC framework gives significant weight to the commercial expertise of the

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**Application:** The Supreme Court set aside the NCLAT's judgment, holding that it had

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## Parties

- **Judges:** ROHINTON FALI…; SURYA…; +1 more
- **Appellants:** Committee of…
- **Respondents:** Essar Steel India…; Satish Kumar…
- **Other parties:** 7th Edition…; Role o…; +8 more

## Timeline

- **2017-08-02 — Admission of Company…**: NCLT, Ahmedabad admitted Company Petition (I.B.) No. 39 of 2017 filed by Standard…
- **2017-10-06 — Invitation for…**: Resolution professional invited expressions of interest from resolution applicants for…

## Legal provisions

- [Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, Section 7 — Initiation of corporate insolvency resolution…](https://caseease.in/legal-provisions/insolvency-and-bankruptcy-code-2016/section-7)

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