The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) hearing on Incab Industries Limited on Friday took a strange turn when a private firm M/s. Tropical Ventures through its advocate staked claim of Rs 277 crore which it owes from Incab's Pune-based plant. The private firm sought an intervener petition into the case.

The hearing took place through a video conferencing facility. The next NCLAT hearing is scheduled on December 15.

Tropical Ventures have also filed a petition earlier with the Bombay High Court over its outstanding dues.

Today's development came as a blow to the ongoing liquidation process initiated by Shashi Agarwal, the liquidator of the ailing Incab Industries appointed by the Calcutta-bench of National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).

The liquidator was about to carry out an e-auction of the company's Pune plant this month which has been deferred till next month.

“We were expecting a final order from NCLAT today on the petition filed by us challenging the liquidation order of Incab passed by NCLT's Calcutta bench in February this year. Another petitioner - an official of Incab's head office in Calcutta - had challenged the liquidation order. But, NCLAT could not give an order because of the claim made by Tropical Ventures. The next hearing will take place on December 15,” said S K Mohanty, a Supreme Court lawyer fighting the case on behalf of the 277-workers of Incab in NCLAT. He participated in the hearing on a virtual platform.

In another development two senior advocates - Akhilesh Srivastava and Rohit Singha today challenged before the Jharkhand High Court that the recent order of the Calcutta-bench of NCLT which had said that the land on which Incab Industries is located in a sub-lease land of Tata Steel was false.

“The land now belongs to the state government. How can NCLT pass such orders which are beyond its jurisdiction,” pointed out Srivastava adding that the Jharkhand High Court today issued an order for serving notices to the concerned parties in this regard.

Notably, the Calcutta bench of NCLT on February 7 this year had ordered dissolution of ailing Incab Industries Limited under The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016.

The liquidation order came as a major blow to the workers in Jamshedpur as well as the union operating here and in Calcutta, where Incab has its head office.

Incab's Jamshedpur plant currently has a strength of around 900-odd employees.

In the mid-1990s, a Malaysian promoter Leader Universal Berhad Cables took over the firm. But, the company started suffering losses and slid deeper in the red.

As it was suffering losses Incab was referred to the BIFR in 1999, a year before Jharkhand was carved out of Bihar. Since then the employees are deprived of their monthly salary and other benefits.