No SC aid for Sterling Biotech on one-time settlement to banks

The Supreme Court has rejected a plea in search of extension of time until March 31 to finish the one-time settlement (OTS) of dues owed by Gujarat-based Sterling Biotech Limited (SBL) — which is dealing with a cash laundering probe — to a consortium of banks.
A Bench of Justices R F Nariman and B R Gavai dismissed the applying filed by SBL-owned Richmond Investments Ltd, in search of the aid.
Richmond, in its utility, had sought the additional time to avoid wasting SBL from impending liquidation saying that if liquidation occurs, it “will affect the pharmaceutical industry as 60 per cent of capsules sold in the country are manufactured from gelatin produced by the company which will have devastating disruption during this pandemic”.

The plea contended that a number of thousand staff would lose their jobs if the liquidation goes by.
In a further affidavit, the corporate stated that SBL promoters, Nitin Sandesara, Chetankumar Sandesara, Dipti Chetan Sandesara and Hiteshkumar Patel “are facing a frivolous prosecution including under PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) for alleged default in payment towards the loan accounts.”