NCLT lets Srei Infra Finance recall Sterling SEZ case

The dedicated bankruptcy court has allowed the withdrawal of insolvency plea filed by Srei Infrastructure Finance against Sterling SEZ & Infrastructure, a firm owned by brothers Nitin and Chetan Sandesara, now fugitives from Indian law and believed to be abroad.

Gujarat-based Sterling SEZ is a subsidiary of Sterling Group that owes over Rs 8,100 crore to its financial and operational lenders. Promoters of the group are alleged to be absconders and the case is pending in the Delhi court to declare them Fugitive Economic Offenders. On Wednesday, in the case of Sterling SEZ & Infrastructure, the NCLT allowed the withdrawal of the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) in the matter of Sterling SEZ as approved by over 92% of the creditors.

“The tribunal is of the view that since more 90 % of the lenders have approved the withdrawal process, it is a fit case for withdrawal,” said Mumbai bench of NCLT presided over by Bhaskara Pantula Mohan and V. Nallasenapathy. “However, since the company promoters are absconding, the RP has been appointed as administrator of the company as an interim measure,” said the tribunal in an oral order.


Srei Infrastructure had filed insolvency plea against Sterling SEZ for the default of Rs 337 crore in July 2018. However, the NBFC later assigned its debt in the company to another company, Aviral Maritime Infrastructure. Earlier, before the tribunal allowed withdrawal the CIRP plea, the counsel representing the Resolution Professional (RP) Manoj Kumar Agarwal informed the tribunal that Sterling’s promoters agreed to settle for nearly half of total dues.