Argument goes on

New Delhi, Jan. 13: The Company Law Board today deferred a decision on allotment of Haldia Petrochem shares to IDBI by The Chatterjee Group. The Board will hear the case again on January 23.

IDBI is the principal lender in the consortium of 52 institutions which had lent money to Haldia Petrochemicals (HPL). The company has a debt burden of Rs 3,000 crore.

?We are avoiding an interim order because we hope the matter will be resolved. I do not want more hurdles in the settlement process,? said CLB chairman S. Balasubramaniam.

?Issues cannot be decided without hearing the entire matter,? he said.

When pointed out that the stay on the allotment of shares meant a loss of Rs 15 crore per month for the company, Balasubramaniam said, ? I don?t mind the company suffering for a temporary period. I do not want it to suffer all the time.?

Balasubramaniam wants the injunction order issued on August 4 last year to be maintained.

?I would urge you to co-operate with me. I will try and advance the date of hearing. You have waited for eight months and you can wait for another four months,? he told the IDBI counsel.

In its appeal, The Chatterjee Petroleum Mauritius Company had said if more shares are allotted to IDBI as the corporate debt restructuring package suggests, TCG would become minority stakeholders.

However, IDBI had sought to vacate the status quo order. IDBI argues, according to the CDR agreement, it should be allotted the shares and the injunction was unfair.

The IDBI counsel added the Chatterjee group company had not placed all the CDR documents and the subsequent company resolutions before the CLB.

The CLB chairman said ?the rights of the IDBI will never be affected, even if it (CPMC) is reduced to a minority, your rights will not be affected.?

?Financial institutions are concerned only about their rights. They are not really concerned about settling the case,? Balasubramaniam said.