The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has initiated the corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) for Katra Realtors, following a petition filed by IL&FS Financial Services Ltd.
Situated in Delhi, Katra Realtors had acted as a corporate guarantor for Ansal Properties and Infrastructure (Ansal API), which is presently undergoing insolvency proceedings.
Ansal API has acknowledged liabilities exceeding Rs 571 crore, and IL&FS Financial Services sought recourse against Katra Realtors due to its corporate guarantee of approximately Rs 23 crore towards Ansal API.
The NCLT division, comprised of judicial member Manni Sankariah Shanmuga Sundaram and technical member Atul Chaturvedi, ruled that concurrent proceedings can be initiated against both the principal borrower and the corporate guarantor.
The tribunal has designated Chandar Prakash as the interim resolution professional to oversee the resolution process for Katra Realtors.
The conflict originated from a loan agreement between IL&FS Financial Services and Ansal API established in March 2016, wherein Ansal Properties and Infrastructure took out a loan of Rs 50 crore, with Katra Realtors providing an irrevocable guarantee. Ansal API defaulted on this loan in November 2017.
In 2019, IL&FS Financial Services called back the entire loan amount and claimed Rs 124 crore from Ansal API and its guarantors, including Katra Realtors, also initiating insolvency proceedings against the developer. Although an attempt was made to settle the dispute in 2021, which was later withdrawn, the developer tried to revise the settlement in 2023.
Despite ongoing defaults, IL&FS Financial Services revived its petition to the tribunal in 2024 to admit Ansal API under CIRP.
The NCLT emphasized: “The corporate guarantor (Katra Realtors), like the respondent, is liable for the debt incurred by the principal borrower (Ansal API). The right to take action against the principal borrower and guarantor exists equally.”
IL&FS Financial Services has claimed that Ansal API has defaulted on loans amounting to Rs 257 crore. Consequently, the tribunal accepted the case for insolvency resolution in February 2025.
Earlier this year, Kusum Ansal, wife of Ansal group promoter Sushil Ansal, sold her Lutyens’ Delhi property for Rs 241 crore while the group faces multiple legal challenges. The transaction was executed by a lender under the Securitization and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act.
