Mumbai: Lenders of Sterling Biotech were caught off guard when bondholders’ trustee Madison Pacific Trust Ltd challenged the withdrawal of bankruptcy proceedings initiated by banks on Tuesday saying it held over 10% voting rights in the Committee of Creditors (CoC) and their consent was not sought by the resolution professional (RP) at the time of voting.The Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) was hearing a withdrawal petition filed by the lenders of Sterling Biotech. The lenders have approached the tribunal after accepting a one time settlement (OTS) from the promoters of the company.The NCLT bench presided over by VP Singh and Ravikumar Duraisamy also asked the bond holders of Madison Pacific Trust, who is opposing the OTS, to file its response in the case.“The statutory timeline of 270 days got over on March 8 and the lenders have filed withdrawal petition under Section 12 (A) on March 12, four days after the deadline for the resolution process when ideally the resolution professional (RP) should have filed for liquidation,” observed the bench and directed RP to file his reply on the objection of Madison Pacific Trust.The Gujarat-based Sterling Group’s three companies — Sterling Biotech, Sterling SEZ and trading arm Sterling International — are facing insolvency cases.The group owes Rs 15,000 crore to its financial and operational creditors. The flagship Sterling Biotech owes over Rs 6, 000 crore to lenders. The banks have approved the OTS offer from the Sandesaras of around Rs 3,945 crore.