NCLT sends Stellence Pharmscience resolution plan back to lenders over workers' dues

The National Company Law Tribunal's Bengaluru bench has refused, for now, to approve a resolution plan for Stellence Pharmscience Pvt Ltd and has sent it back to the company's lenders for reconsideration. In an order delivered on 27 October 2026, the tribunal held that the plan, which offers employees, workmen and other operational creditors 4.95% of their claims, did not appear to comply with the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. The matter is listed again on 27 November 2026.

What Happened

Stellence Pharmscience was admitted into the corporate insolvency resolution process, the tribunal-supervised rescue process for companies that default, on 6 March 2024, on a petition by Religare Finvest Ltd. The committee of creditors, made up of four financial creditors, approved a resolution plan with 100% of the vote on 15 April 2025.

Under the plan, as set out in the order, secured financial creditors who claimed Rs 35.07 crore would get Rs 27.60 crore, or 78.69%. Employees who claimed Rs 1.58 crore would get about Rs 7.20 lakh, and workmen who claimed Rs 12.01 lakh would get about Rs 59,555, each 4.95% of the claim. Provident fund dues were provided for in full.

The tribunal noted that the plan rested on the resolution applicant's assumption that the company's liquidation value was too low to leave anything for operational creditors, and that the minutes of the committee of creditors did not show it had deliberated on this. It held that the plan did not appear to comply with Section 30(2)(b) of the Code, which requires operational creditors to get at least what they would receive in a liquidation. The tribunal also found the due diligence report on the resolution applicant defective, because it measured the applicant's net worth as on 14 July 2023, before the insolvency began.

What It Means

The committee of creditors must reconsider the plan, take remedial action and update the tribunal before the next hearing. The tribunal said the insolvency process stands extended until then. For the company's employees, workmen and suppliers, the order means the lenders must show that the plan treats their claims at least as well as the law requires. The tribunal's order may be appealed to the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal.

Source: NCLT order