In the LIQUIDATION of a corporate debtor under Section 53 of the IBC, 2016, the HIGHEST PRIORITY in the distribution of the proceeds of the liquidation estate is given to:

Section 53 of the IBC prescribes the statutory waterCASCADE for distributing the liquidation estate in insolvency. It lays down the first charge in the order of priority: 1. the INSOLVENCY RESOLUTION PROCESS COSTS and the liquidation costs; 2. workmen's dues for the preceding 24 months and secured creditors (to the extent of their security value); and so on down to the unsecured financial creditors, statutory dues, operational creditors, and finally equity shareholders. Resolution and liquidation costs are the very first priority precisely because the process cannot run without them. The priority ladder of Section 53 is a defining IBC question.