India's Gujarat High Court today dismissed Essar Steel India Ltd's appeal against a central bank order that asked creditor banks to start insolvency proceedings against the steelmaker, lawyers on the case said, Reuters reported. The ruling is a boost to the government, which in May tweaked Indian banking laws to empower the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to tackle the country's bad debt issue, allowing the RBI for the first time to direct lenders to force defaulters into insolvency courts. The ruling paves the way for the start of bankruptcy proceedings against Essar Steel, although the company could appeal the ruling. Essar Steel had argued that it should have been given an opportunity to present its case before the Reserve Bank of India decided to include the company among 12 defaulters that would be referred to bankruptcy court. Essar had also argued that proceedings could result in the company's demise when it was "almost in the stage of revival" and working to resolve its debt problems, according to court documents.
