Supreme Court Says NCLAT Bench Wilfully Defied Its Order In Finolex Cables Matter

The Supreme Court on Monday closed the contempt proceedings against the NCLAT bench that acted in defiance of its orders in a matter pertaining to Finolex Cables Ltd.

The court said that its order was wilfully defied by the bench and that there wasn't an iota of doubt that the order was not communicated to the bench.

However, no penalties were imposed on the bench.

The court was apprised of the fact that, in the wake of the contempt proceedings, Justice Rakesh Kumar, the judicial member on the bench, had tendered his resignation from the appellate tribunal.

The apex court has imposed a fine of Rs 1 crore on Deepak Chhabria, former chairman and managing director of Finolex Cables, and another Rs 10 lakh on the scrutiniser for acting in concert and withholding the results of the annual general meeting.

The case pertains to an order passed in a matter concerning the annual general meeting of Finolex Cables.

On Oct. 13, the top court directed the appellate tribunal not to pass an order in the matter until the final results of the AGM were published.

However, the appellate tribunal proceeded to pronounce its order at 2 p.m., whereas the results of the AGM were declared at 2:40 p.m.

According to the lawyers involved in the case, the top court's order was presented before the NCLAT bench, but to no avail.

As a result, the top court directed the NCLAT chairperson to inquire into:

• Whether the order of the top court as of Oct. 13 was drawn to the attention of the two judges.

• If true, then what were the circumstances in which the tribunal proceeded to pronounce the judgement, despite the clear mandate of the order of the top court.

The court had further said that if what is stated turns out to be true, then it will constitute a clear defiance of the top court's order.

Subsequently, on Oct. 18, the apex court issued a notice of contempt to the bench for disobeying its orders.