New Delhi: Senior Telugu Desam leader and Union minister Sujana Chowdary suffered a setback on Tuesday with the Supreme Court dismissing a petition filed by Sujana Industries, owned by him, seeking a stay on the Hyderabad High Court’s order on liquidation of his company.
After a brief hearing from the counsel for Sujana Industries, a bench of Justices J. Chalameswar and A.M. Sapre rejected the Special Leave Petition.
The counsel submitted that the firm was not the principal debtor but only a guarantor, the Bench pointed out that there was a decree against the company. He argued that lenders could not seek liquidation of guarantor firms through company petitions. When counsel insisted that important questions of law are to be decided, the bench said, “We leave open the question of law. Petition dismissed.”
Sujana Industries stood as a guarantor for '100-crore loan availed by the its subsidiary Heistia in Mauritius. As Heistia defaulted in repaying the loan, the Mauritius Commercial Bank filed a liquidation plea against Sujana Industries in the Hyderabad HC, which directed Sujana Industries to pay the loan amount by September 30. A single judge had in April 2015 allowed a company petition moved by the Mauritius Bank seeking liquidation of Sujana Industries.
