IBBI suspends insolvency professional for two years over Hallmark Infrastructure case

The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) has suspended the registration of an insolvency professional for two years over the handling of the insolvency of Hallmark Infrastructure Private Limited, a case in which homebuyers are creditors. The order of the IBBI's Disciplinary Committee is dated 3 November 2026 and comes into force 30 days after it was issued.

What Happened

The insolvency process of Hallmark Infrastructure began on 23 August 2024 by an order of the National Company Law Tribunal, Chennai Bench, on an application by Bank of India. The professional was appointed interim resolution professional and later confirmed as resolution professional, the person who runs a company during insolvency. The IBBI acted on a complaint from the authorised representative of the company's homebuyers.

The Disciplinary Committee found that no registered valuers were appointed for the company's financial assets at any stage, even though its financial statements showed such assets and the homebuyers had asked for them to be valued. Provisional figures put the company's total assets at Rs 49.64 crore. The committee also found that the professional did not hold the required meeting at which valuers explain their method to the committee of creditors, and did not decide on possible avoidance transactions within the set timelines. According to the order, the professional directed the write-off of diamonds worth about Rs 8 crore without examining whether their loss arose from an alleged fraudulent transaction covered by the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.

Per the order, the invitation for resolution plans was published on 31 December 2024 against a due date of 22 October 2024, a delay of about 70 days, and a late expression of interest was placed before the creditors without telling them that the rules require it to be rejected. The professional argued that the company's records were damaged, funds were short and the assets existed only on paper; the committee held that these did not excuse the statutory duties.

What It Means

The professional cannot continue existing assignments. The committees of creditors of every company where the professional serves must appoint another resolution professional or liquidator. The order may be appealed.

For Hallmark Infrastructure's homebuyers, the order records the professional's submission that under the approved resolution plan they are stated to realise 99.39% of their shelter-related entitlements, with the plan to be completed within 15 months of its approval by the tribunal.

Source: IBBI disciplinary order