Supreme Court stays NCLT order on govt takeover of Unitech

The Supreme Court on Wednesday stayed an order of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) that allowed the government to take control of Unitech Ltd by suspending its board of directors. The court’s direction came on the centre’s statement, saying the centre should have taken the apex court’s leave before approaching the company law tribunal since the Supreme Court was already seized of the matter. On Tuesday, the court had expressed displeasure over the manner in which the government had approached the NCLT and the tribunal’s order allowing the government to take control of the company. Unitech had argued the NCLT order is contrary to the October 30 Supreme Court order which had asked the company's promoters to deposit Rs 750 crore in its registry by end-December, allowing them to sell their properties for raising the cash.