‘Dangerous precedent, dangerous delay’: HNG Workers Union accuse CCI and AGI Greenpac of derailing SC-backed insolvency process, writes to FM

'Dangerous precedent, dangerous delay': HNG Workers Union accuse CCI and AGI Greenpac of derailing SC-backed insolvency process, writes to FM

In a strongly worded letter to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the Workers Union of Hindustan National Glass & Industries Ltd. (HNGIL) has accused the Competition Commission of India (CCI) and failed resolution applicant AGI Greenpac of deliberately sabotaging the timely resolution of the company’s insolvency process, at the cost of thousands of workers’ futures.

The letter exposes what it calls a “systematic exploitation of judicial remedies” by AGI Greenpac, which was disqualified by the Supreme Court in its landmark judgment dated January 29, 2025. The apex court had nullified AGI’s resolution plan and also quashed the conditional CCI approval granted to AGI-HNGIL’s proposed combination, citing violations of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), 2016, and the Competition Act, 2002.

AGI Greenpac then filed a review petition and got its petition clubbed with the one filed by CCI, which is limited to a narrow legal interpretation of Section 29 of the Competition Act. The workers allege this has been done through procedural manipulation via correspondence to the Supreme Court registry.

Union’s Outrage: “Review petition has become a backdoor entry for a failed bidder”

The Workers Union claims that AGI is misusing CCI’s review as a tool to relitigate the entire CIRP—a matter already settled by a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court after an exhaustive 2.5-month-long hearing. The letter says that entertaining such review petitions opens the floodgates to judicial abuse, setting a dangerous precedent for commercial insolvency cases where speed and certainty are essential.

“This is not just a review petition—it is an attempt to reverse a well-reasoned judgment in the absence of the judge who authored it. The authoring judge has retired, and vested interests are exploiting this to reopen the case,” the letter states.

The union also criticised the role of the CCI, calling its conduct “highly questionable and not aligned with law or procedures”. The letter accuses certain CCI members of working in “close coordination with the failed resolution applicant”, an accusation that casts a serious shadow on the integrity of the regulatory process.

CIRP Timeline: Victory for workers, blocked again

Post the Supreme Court’s judgment, the Committee of Creditors (CoC) of HNGIL—led by public sector banks including SBI (holding over 38% voting share)—unanimously exercised their commercial wisdom and approved the resolution plan of INSCO (Independent Sugar Corporation Ltd., part of the Madhvani Group) on February 4, 2025.

The plan was filed with the Adjudicating Authority (NCLT Kolkata) on February 27, 2025. Yet, due to the pending review petitions by CCI and AGI, the NCLT has refrained from hearing the approval application.

“Each day of delay is a death sentence for workers”

The workers emphasise the company’s plants, citing dangerous working conditions, a massive fire accident at the Nashik facility, and a drastic reduction in production capacity. They caution that continued delay in resolution is pushing the company toward irreversible liquidation, which would destroy more than 10,000 jobs and wipe out the livelihoods of workers, their families, and dependent communities.

“The work conditions are deteriorating each day. If the CIRP does not conclude before May 10, 2025, which is the extended outer limit fixed by the Adjudicating Authority, the company will go into liquidation,” the letter says.

Appeal to the Finance Minister

In its concluding plea, the Workers Union implore the Finance Minister to intervene decisively:

  • Ensure CCI’s limited review is not used by AGI Greenpac to derail CIRP;
  • Direct CCI to withdraw its review petition, or at least clarify that it should not be misused to reopen settled findings;
  • Safeguard the Coc-approved plan of INSCO, which represents the commercial will of financial creditors and the lawful direction of the Supreme Court;
  • Prevent liquidation, which will permanently extinguish workers’ rights and future.

“We, the workers, are already operating under extreme risk. We have waited for justice since October 2021. We are not asking for favours—we are praying for survival“, the letter concludes.

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