Facts & Background:

• V.S. Palanivel was a shareholder and former managing director of M/s Sri Lakshmi Hotel Private Limited, and the corporate debtor was the appellant.
• P. Sriram, the liquidator, was the Respondent.
• The corporate debtor acquired a 67,533 sq. ft. property in Tiruchirappalli for hotel and bar operations and, in 2006, obtained a ₹1,57,25,000 loan, resulting in disputes and subsequent arbitration with the financial creditor.
• On 27.12.2014, the Arbitral Tribunal rendered an award in favour of the financial creditor. It directed the corporate debtor to pay ₹2,21,08,244 along with interest at 24% per annum from the date of the claim petition until realisation.
• The company instituted proceedings under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, challenging the arbitral award before the Madras High Court, which dismissed the petition by its order dated 16.11.2017.
• The financial creditor filed an application under Section 7 of the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code, 2016, before the National Company Law Tribunal, Chennai, citing non-payment of the awarded amount. The Tribunal admitted the application on 28.02.2019 and appointed Respondent No. 2 as the Liquidator.
• As the first auction received no bids, a second auction was conducted on 23.12.2019 at a reduced reserve price, wherein M/s KMC Speciality Hospitals (India) Limited emerged as the sole bidder. The balance payment exceeded the statutory 90-day period.
• In the absence of a resolution plan, the Committee of Creditors recommended liquidation, which the Adjudicating Authority approved on 17.07.2019. The Liquidator valued the property at ₹39,41,28,500 and initiated the auction process.
• The Auction Purchaser sought an extension for payment, citing the nationwide lockdown and property attachment. The Adjudicating Authority granted the extension, deferring the payment deadline until the lockdown was lifted.
• The Appellant instituted a Miscellaneous Application before the NCLT, seeking to annul the auction proceedings. However, the NCLT dismissed the application by a common order dated 17.11.2021.
• The Appellant filed a Company Appeal on 27.10.2021, challenging the Sale Deed and seeking a recall of the order dated 05.05.2020. The Adjudicating Authority dismissed both applications by order dated 17.11.2021.
• Hence the present appeal.
  

Main Issue:

• Whether the Court should have proceeded to set aside the auction and, consequently, declared the sale certificate issued by the Liquidator in favour of the Auction Purchaser null and void, as pleaded by the Appellant? (Paragraph 36.12)