ANDHRA BANK Vs. F M HAMMERELE TEXTILE LTD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Cp (IB) NO. 30/Chd/Pb/2017 filed by the Respondent-Corporate Debtor under Section 10 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (for short, to be referred hereinafter as the 'Code') was admitted by this Tribunal on 27.06.2017 declaring moratorium in terms of Section 14 (1) of the Code and Interim Resolution Professional was appointed with necessary directions. The Financial Creditor of the Corporate Debtor is State Bank of India. The Financial Creditor filed CA No. 108/2017 under Section 22 (3) (b) of the Code for replacement of Interim Resolution Professional by proposing Mr. Rajeev Goel as the Resolution Professional who was ultimately appointed as such vide order dated 01.09.2017. The Resolution Professional is sending the progress reports regularly.

(2.) The instant application has been filed by Andhra Bank, Sector 17 Branch, Chandigarh through Shri N.K. Sablania, its Chief Manager. It is stated that the Corporate Debtor has also furnished corporate guarantee in favour of the applicant bank and other banks (14 in number) in consortium credit facility to the tune of more than Rs.593 crores extended to M/s. Vardhman Polytex Limited which has been described in this application as the 'borrower'. It is stated that M/s. Vardhman Polytex Limited approached the applicant bank for sanction of certain credit facilities in the form of working term loan and working capital and certain facilities as detailed in the application which were sanctioned vide sanction letter dated 12.07.2011 (Annexure A2) and renewed vide letters dated 02.03.2015 (Annexure A-3) and 30.03.2017 (Annexure A-4) . The Corporate Debtor executed corporate guarantee in respect of the said loan to the borrower. Copy of the corporate guarantee dated 24.05.2013 is annexed at Annexure A-5 and it is a continuing guarantee.

(3.) It is further stated that the Interim Resolution Professional (for short, the 'IRP') made public announcement (Annexure A-6) in Business Standard dated 30.06.2017. The applicant-bank submitted the claim in Form C dated 29.07.2017 (Annexure A-7) for Rs.16 crores. IRP vide e-mail dated 04.08.2017 sought certain clarifications which were provided vide e-mail dated 05.08.2017. The IRP rejected the claim of the applicant-bank vide e-mail dated 08.08.2017 stating that the account of the borrower being standard in the books of the applicant-bank and they have not invoked the corporate guarantee given by the Corporate Debtor and there was thus no amount due and payable to the applicant-bank by the borrower as on date.