Liquidator can sell attached property: NCLT

India’s dedicated bankruptcy court has sought to remove legal impediments to liquidation or loan-recovery proceedings by setting aside property attachment claims of state-run utilities or operational creditors that have not been paid their dues by bankrupt private-sector borrowers. The National Company Law Tribunal’s (NCLT) Allahabad bench said that district authorities can’t prevent the sale of land of bankrupt borrower Raman Ispat for its failure to pay outstanding power bills. The local authorities had attached the company’s land parcel in lieu of outstanding utility-usage dues. “This is a landmark judgement removing a key hurdle in liquidation processes,” said Anil Goel, founder AAA Insolvency Professionals. “The order will now be cited in other liquidation cases, which are stuck in bitter litigations with many such government bodies attaching corporate debtor’s assets.” NCLT has ordered the district magistrate’s office to immediately release properties that have been attached for not paying power bills. The order will help speed up the liquidation of Raman Ispat.