The insolvency proceedings against Coffee Day Enterprises Ltd (CDEL), the parent company of Cafe Coffee Day, have resumed after the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) failed to issue its order within the Supreme Court’s February 21 deadline.
The Chennai bench of NCLAT had earlier reserved its verdict on an appeal filed by a director of CDEL’s suspended board. In a regulatory filing, CDEL confirmed that since the appeal remained unresolved within the given timeframe, the stay on the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) was lifted, and the powers of the interim resolution professional (IRP) were reinstated on February 22, 2025.
The insolvency proceedings were initially triggered on August 8, 2024, when the Bengaluru bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) admitted a plea from IDBI Trusteeship Services Ltd (IDBITSL) over a default claim of Rs 228.45 crore. Following this, an IRP was appointed to oversee the company’s operations. However, CDEL’s suspended board challenged the decision, leading NCLAT to stay the proceedings on August 14, 2024.
IDBITSL subsequently escalated the matter to the Supreme Court, which on January 31, 2025, directed NCLAT’s Chennai bench to resolve the appeal by February 21. The Supreme Court had also ruled that if the appeal was not decided within the stipulated time, the stay on CDEL’s insolvency process would be automatically lifted.
CDEL, which operates Cafe Coffee Day outlets, a resort, consultancy services, and coffee bean trading, has been grappling with financial difficulties since the death of its founder, VG Siddhartha, in July 2019. The company has since been working on debt reduction strategies, including asset sales and restructuring effort.