Citation: M/s ASJ Finsolutions Pvt. Ltd. v. Vikram Bajaj, Civil Appeal No. 13023 of 2025, 2026 INSC 1062, decided on 28 September 2026.
The Supreme Court has held that a successful bidder in an IBC liquidation auction cannot get back the money he deposited if he fails to pay the balance price on time. M/s ASJ Finsolutions won an auction for a Sonepat land parcel (Lot 5) at its reserve price of Rs 25.56 crore, but paid only Rs 6.39 crore (including the Rs 2.55 crore earnest money) and never paid the remaining Rs 19.17 crore within the 30-day period, or even the extended 90-day period with 12% interest. The company argued that the IBBI Liquidation Regulations do not allow forfeiture, that a pending High Court order and a doubtful title gave it a genuine reason to hold back, and that other bidders had been given more time. The Court rejected all of this. The auction notice clearly said the entire amount paid, including the earnest money, could be forfeited on non-payment, and it also warned that the title to part of the land was disputed and the sale was “as is where is”. The bidder went in with open eyes, paid the amounts without protest, never asked to see the title deeds before bidding, and produced no proof that it actually had the money. The Court called its excuses an afterthought. The property was later re-sold for Rs 31.10 crore, but this did not entitle the bidder to a refund. The appeal against the NCLAT order upholding forfeiture was dismissed.