The NCLAT has held that the death of a successful or settling resolution applicant before formal approval of a resolution plan does not, by itself, justify liquidation of the corporate debtor — particularly where a Section 12A withdrawal application based on an underlying settlement remained pending before the Adjudicating Authority at the time.
The Tribunal set aside the NCLT's liquidation order dated 17 September 2025, revived the CIRP of Genius Exports Pvt. Ltd., and directed the NCLT to take up and decide the pending Section 12A withdrawal application on its own merits, rather than treating the applicant's intervening death as having overtaken and mooted that application.
The ruling gives resolution professionals, creditors and settling parties useful clarity that the death of an individual applicant or promoter mid-process is not an automatic trigger for liquidation — preserving the possibility of a negotiated exit or revived resolution even after such an unforeseen intervening event.