A director of a company in CIRP had moved the Hon'ble NCLT, Mumbai Bench, seeking the right to participate in the meetings of the CoC and access all the documents and/or information including the resolutions plans being
CS Professional · Corporate Restructuring, Valuation and Insolvency · PYQS · June 2025
A director of a company in CIRP had moved the Hon'ble NCLT, Mumbai Bench, seeking the right to participate in the meetings of the CoC and access all the documents and/or information including the resolutions plans being discussed in the meetings of the CoC, for effective participation in the meetings. The Hon'ble NCLT on August 1, 2018 held that the directors have the right to attend the CoC meetings as per Section 24 of the Code, however, the directors could not receive information that is considered confidential by the resolution professional or the CoC, including the resolution plans. Thereafter, the Directors filed appeal before NCLAT for treating the papers as confidential by the RP. In the appeal, the decision of the NCLT was upheld by the NCLAT on August 9, 2018. The director then moved the Supreme Court, challenging the decision of the appellate tribunal. Decide the matter with reference to relevant case law.
Answer & Explanation:
The matter is similar to the case of Vijay Kumar Jain Vs. Standard Chartered Bank & Others [(2019) decided by the Hon'ble Supreme Court. The Judgement of the Supreme Court is as under :- The Hon'ble Supreme Court held that the scheme of the Code makes it clear that the directors, though not members of the CoC, have a right to participate in every meeting of the CoC. In addition, for effective participation as vitally interested parties in discussion on resolution plans, they have the right to receive copies of the resolution plans presented to the CoC. The Hon'ble Supreme Court also clarified that under Regulation 21(3)(iii) of the CIRP Regulations, the notice of the CoC meeting, which is required to be given to the directors as well, must contain copies of all the documents relevant for matters to be discussed, including the resolution plans. The Hon'ble Supreme Court considered the directors to be vitally interested on two counts: Such directors are often guarantors and bound by the approved plan, which may scale down their own debts. The directors, being well versed in the affairs of the company, may be able to assist the CoC on determining whether the resolution plan addresses the cause of default by the company (a mandatory requirement for resolution plans). The Hon'ble Supreme Court also clarified that any concerns over breach of confidentiality may be alleviated by the resolution professional obtaining a confidentiality undertaking from the directors, which may also contain an indemnity to the resolution professional against any breach.
Topics: Insolvency
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