The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Wednesday refused to grant nod to McDonald's-Vikram Bakshi prayer for withdrawal of proceedings against each other. Withdrawal of proceedings would pave the way for settlement.
The court observed that Bakshi should first explore settlement with the Housing and Development Corporation (Hudco). Hudco is claiming unpaid dues of Rs 195 crore.
State-owned Hudco on Monday approached the NCLAT to recover its dues from Bakshi, who has agreed for an out-of-court settlement with McDonald's, ending their six-year-long dispute.
Counsel for Hudco filed an intervention application before a two-member bench of the NCLAT, headed by Chairperson S J Mukhopadhyay, pleading that its dues should be cleared first from the amount that Bakshi was to receive from the US fast-food chain.
Hudco has claimed that an amount of Rs 185 crore, including interest, is due. However, Bakshi claimed that of the principal amount disbursed by Hudco, only Rs 6 crore and interest is pending.
Hudco claims that it had given loan to Bakshi for his hospitality company, Ascot Hotels Pvt Ltd and the loan account turned into NPA (non-performing asset).
Earlier on May 6, McDonald's and Bakshi told the NCLAT that they were working towards an out-of-court settlement to end their dispute.
Subsequently, on May 9, they announced an out-of-court settlement with the US fast-food chain agreeing to buy Bakshi from their joint venture that operated outlets of the chain in the north and east India.
The details of the pact, including financial terms, were not disclosed.
(With inputs from PTI)
First Published: May 15, 2019 4:40 PM IST
