India’s Supreme Court rejected lenders’ effort to withdraw a creditor-approved rescue plan for TD Toll Road after it reached the insolvency tribunal, leaving that tribunal to decide whether the plan meets legal requirements.
In Bank of India & Ors. v. S.M. Kamal Pasha & Ors., Civil Appeal No. 12045 of 2026, the Supreme Court declined to disturb a National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) order restoring the application. The court held that after the Committee of Creditors (CoC) approves a plan and the resolution professional files it with the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), neither the plan nor its approval application can be withdrawn.
The CoC unanimously approved a consortium’s proposal on May 7, 2021. The resolution professional submitted it to the NCLT on June 29, 2021. The NCLT allowed withdrawal on Dec. 8, 2025, but the NCLAT reversed that order on April 20, 2026.
The lenders told the court that the offer was ₹172.55 crore and asserted that the company’s balance grew from ₹30 crore to ₹165 crore. In their view, the later balance could unfairly benefit the winning applicant, so they asked for a new bidding round. The Supreme Court recorded the amounts as the lenders’ claims, not findings, and directed the NCLT to examine TD Toll Road’s current finances and cash balance.
In a preliminary observation, the Supreme Court said stronger profitability alone would not justify refusing a plan that satisfies Section 30(2) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016. It said the NCLT need not treat that observation as controlling when it makes its final decision.
The court linked the delay to a stay it had issued in earlier proceedings and noted that the successful applicant’s performance bank guarantee remained in place, generating considerable expense.
TD Toll Road’s holding company separately asked to end the insolvency process through a one-time settlement. The Supreme Court directed the NCLT to consider that request alongside the plan application and decide both as expeditiously as possible. It set no hearing date.
