The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) refused on Friday to prevent Bollywood actor Salman Khan from regaining control of his Mumbai property, which had been leased out to Future Retail to operate a food and beverage store called Foodhall.
A bench comprising NLCAT chairperson Justice Ashok Bhushan and Member (Technical) Barun Mitra dismissed the plea filed by Koinonia Coffee Private Limited, which operated a store in Mumbai’s Linking Road area.
The court stated, “We see no reason to issue any such injunction in this appeal.”
Salman Khan signed a Leave and License deal with Kishore Biyani’s Future Retail company, TNSI Retail Private Limited. TNSI ran the Foodhall store in the property.
Koinonia later approached the NCLAT, claiming that Foodhall is a completely owned subsidiary of Future Retail, which is now bankrupt.
It was stated that Koinonia is in the specialty coffee business and has been participating in the Foodhall business as an exclusive roasting and coffee serving partner since 2018.
The tribunal was told that once Future declared bankruptcy, Koinonia asked the Resolution Professional (RP) to take custody of the Foodhall firm and pay the debts. The RP, however, did not answer.
The appellant (Koinonia) then approached the Adjudicating Authority, which reserved its decision on February 22.
According to Koinonia, once the orders were reserved by the authority, TNSI and the ex-management began conspiring with licensors such as Salman Khan to shut the ‘Foodhall’ stores.
“The Appellant reasonably believes that the ex-management of the Corporate Debtor/TNSI will open supermarkets under a different brand-name,” it stated.
The appellant filed an application before the Adjudicating Authority requesting for pronouncement of an order or, in the meantime, to prevent Khan from taking possession of the property.
The same came to be rejected by way of the present order on March 29, 2023.
