Creditors to Lavasa Corp invoked the ₹25-crore performance bank guarantee (PGB) by Darwin Platform Infrastructure (DPIL) earlier this month, citing non-compliance of the corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) timeline.
This came nine months after the National Company Law Tribunal had approved the transaction. The invocation of the guarantee means that the monitoring committee to implement the plan has now been dissolved and the CIRP process has been halted, putting the decision on the future of the private hill town project back before the NCLT.
«Lenders took a decision to invoke the guarantee because there was no movement on completion of the deal from Darwin. The upfront payment of ₹100 crore had to come within 90 days from NCLT order, which came in July, which is long overdue. Lead lender Union Bank has expressed its no confidence in the resolution applicant, so this was a logical move,» said a person familiar with the process.
Lead lender Union Bank of India had sought withdrawal of NCLT approval alleging connivance between the resolution professional (RP) Shailesh Verma and DPIL to undervalue the real estate assets of Lavasa, resulting in a loss to creditors of the company, ET had reported in October. Though petition by Union Bank was dismissed by the NCLT, a subsequent petition by State Bank of India (SBI) in the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) was allowed and is still pending in court.
A DPIL spokesperson said the company «would not comment as the matter is in court». Union Bank and