NCLT Approves Subhash Chandra's ₹6.5 Crore Repayment Plan Against ₹22,006 Crore Dues

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has approved a personal insolvency repayment plan for Zee Group founder and media baron Subhash Chandra, allowing him to settle admitted creditor claims of ₹22,006.57 crore by paying ₹6.5 crore. The approval represents an estimated recovery of approximately 0.03% for lenders, translating into a 99.97% haircut on the admitted liabilities. Under the approved resolution framework, ₹6.25 crore will be allocated directly toward settling creditor claims, while the remaining ₹25 lakh will cover operational and process costs associated with the resolution proceedings.

The ruling was passed under Section 114 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) by Judicial Member Nilesh Sharma, who was appointed as the third member of the bench after an initial two-member NCLT panel produced a split verdict.

The proceedings center on Chandra's personal guarantees issued for corporate debts incurred by Essel Group-linked entities. Objecting lenders—led by LIC Housing Finance, which faced an admitted claim of ₹1,322.39 crore but was allocated just ₹38.09 lakh (roughly 0.028% of its dues)—argued that the resolution plan was unviable, tentative, and unlawful.

However, the tribunal rejected these objections, highlighting that creditors holding 80.81% of the voting share had commercially approved the repayment proposal.

In its 144-page order, the tribunal clarified that the role of the adjudicating authority under the IBC framework is supervisory and judicial rather than investigative, underscoring that the court cannot substitute its own assessment for the commercial wisdom of the creditors' committee.

The NCLT also cited valuation reports prepared by the resolution professional, which indicated that Chandra's personal realisable estate was valued substantially below the proposed ₹6.5 crore payout. The tribunal reasoned that pushing Chandra into bankruptcy could result in lower recovery yields, whereas resolving his personal insolvency would allow creditors to pursue independent recovery against the principal corporate debtors. Under Section 115 of the IBC, the approved repayment plan becomes legally binding across all covered creditors, including dissenting institutional lenders.