NCLT Kochi Orders Original Concessionaire To Transfer ₹35.83 Lakh Jatayu Project Revenue To Common Pool

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) at Kochi has directed that Rs 35.83 lakh lying in the current account of Guruchandrika Builders and Property Private Limited, the original concessionaire of the Jatayupara Tourism Project, be transferred to the project's common pool account, saying the move was necessary to maintain continuity of financial supervision.

The direction was issued in an order delivered on Monday (January 5, 2026) by Judicial Member Vinay Goel.

The dispute centers on the Jatayupara Tourism Project, the first Build-Operate-Transfer tourism project of the Kerala government, which runs the Jatayu Earth's Centre at Chadayamangalam in Kollam.

Jatayupara Tourism Private Limited, a company promoted by NRI investors, is one of the respondent in a company petition accusing Guruchandrika Builders and its management of mismanaging the project, siphoning funds, and diverting revenues.

Earlier, on June 6, 2022, the tribunal had directed that daily collections from the project be deposited into a separate escrow account.

After an independent inspection revealed serious financial irregularities, the tribunal, by an order dated December 23, 2023, directed an investigation into the affairs of the group companies and appointed chartered accountant M.R. Bhat as administrator to regulate the affairs of Jatayupara Tourism Private Limited.

Despite the escrow directions, Guruchandrika Builders allegedly continued to collect revenues in cash and deposit them into its own accounts. The tribunal recorded that an amount of Rs 35.83 lakh collected from the project between March 12, 2020 and June 5, 2022 remained in the builder's current account.

On this basis, Jatayupara Tourism Private Limited and its shareholders moved the tribunal seeking urgent directions, including freezing of the account and transfer of the funds to a common pool account operated under tribunal supervision.

Guruchandrika Builders opposed the applications, arguing that they were not maintainable since they had been filed through the company's executive director even though an administrator had already been appointed.

Rejecting the objection, the tribunal noted that the administrator was aware of the proceedings and had actively participated in them.

“It is not in dispute that pursuant to the order dated 22.12.2023, an Administrator has been appointed to regulate the affairs of Jatayupara Tourism Private Limited, and that the Board of Directors is required to function under his supervision and control. However, the material placed on record, including the submissions of the NCLT-appointed Administrator and the subsequent conduct of the proceedings, indicates that the filing of the present Application was within the knowledge of, and not objected to by, the Administrator, who continues to participate in and act upon the directions issued by this Tribunal in relation to the subject matter of the Application” the tribunal observed.

The tribunal also noted that Guruchandrika Builders had earlier admitted before an arbitral tribunal that the amounts lying in its account represented collections from the Jatayupara Tourism Project.

“In the interest of justice and to maintain continuity of financial supervision,” it directed that the Rs 35.83 lakh be transferred to the existing State Bank of India common pool account of the Jatayupara Tourism Project, jointly operated by the administrator and the tribunal-appointed chartered accountant, within seven days.

The tribunal further recorded that digital ticketing and POS-based collections are now in place at the project and directed that UPI payments be integrated with the common pool account so that all revenues flow through a single, monitored channel.

With these directions, the tribunal disposed of the pending applications.

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