Mumbai News: NCLT Rejects Bawa Family Plea To Exit IL&FS Case, Cites ₹32.51 Crore Fund Transfers And SFIO Findings

Mumbai, April 8: The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has rejected the plea filed by Asha Kiran Bawa and Akansha Bawa, the wife and daughter of Ramesh C. Bawa, former MD and CEO of IL&FS Financial Services (IFIN), seeking deletion of their names as respondents from the ongoing proceedings related to Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Ltd (IL&FS).

Tribunal rejects plea citing lack of merit

The tribunal, in its order, held: “The applicants’ contention that there is no finding in relation to them in the said report is devoid of merit, and considering the serious allegations made against R. C. Bawa in the SFIO investigation report, which are yet to be tested, we do not find any merit in the present application seeking reconsideration of the order passed by this Tribunal making the applicants party respondents.”

Applicants’ arguments before tribunal

The applicants had approached the tribunal seeking deletion of their names from the company petition filed by the Union of India under various provisions of the Companies Act, 2013.

According to the application, “There was no violation of the restraining orders of this Tribunal dated December 3, 2018, and April 26, 2019, as held by the Tribunal in its order dated January 6, 2025. Further, no prayers have been pressed against the two in the complaint filed by the SFIO before the Special SFIO Court on May 30, 2019.”

Fund transfers flagged by NCLT

The tribunal, however, noted that its earlier decision to implead them was based on substantial material, including the transfer of significant funds from the account of Ramesh C. Bawa to the accounts of the applicants and entities linked to them.

The order records that Rs 4.84 crore was transferred to Akansha Bawa and Rs 27.67 crore to Asha Kiran Bawa from Ramesh C. Bawa’s account around the time when proceedings were initiated and restraint orders were anticipated.

Links to companies and investigation

The tribunal further observed that these funds were subsequently routed to companies where the applicants were directors, and therefore, their presence in the proceedings was necessary for proper adjudication of the case.

Rejecting the argument that the absence of contempt findings weakened the basis for their impleadment, the bench clarified that the earlier order was not solely based on alleged violations of restraint directions but also on the financial transactions and their connection to the broader investigation into the IL&FS crisis.

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SFIO report and observations

The tribunal also found no merit in the applicants’ reliance on excerpts of the SFIO report, noting that the material placed on record did not conclusively establish the absence of involvement. It referred to portions of the report indicating transactions by entities linked to the applicants with borrower groups connected to IL&FS.

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