2 days ago
Calls grow to challenge Subhash Chandra’s steep creditor haircut
A tribunal approved a plan for Subhash Chandra to pay creditors only a small amount of money.
The plan offers Rs 6.25 crore against claims totaling Rs 22,006.57 crore.
It also provides Rs 25 lakh for the insolvency process.
Critics say this means creditors would receive almost none of the money they were owed.
Some lenders plan to appeal the decision.
Chandra says he sold many of his assets and did everything he could to repay people.
He also says media groups are campaigning against him.
The article argues that India’s insolvency rules should be changed and that the government should not appear to favor Chandra.
The National Company Law Tribunal approved Subhash Chandra’s plan to pay Rs 6.25 crore to creditors and Rs 25 lakh in insolvency costs.
The plan covers admitted claims of Rs 22,006.57 crore, amounting to a 99.97 per cent haircut, according to the article.
Several lenders have said they will challenge the ruling before the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal.
Chandra says he sold family and personal assets, including a house, to repay creditors and denies having retained significant wealth.
The article calls for changes to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code and urges the government to support creditors seeking fuller repayment.
- Who
- Subhash Chandra, his creditors, the National Company Law Tribunal, and the Narendra Modi government are central to the article.
- What
- The tribunal approved Chandra’s repayment plan despite admitted creditor claims of Rs 22,006.57 crore; lenders are considering an appeal.
- Where
- The ruling was issued in India’s corporate insolvency system; any appeal would go to the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal.
- When
- The National Company Law Tribunal issued the ruling on August 25.
- Why
- The article says creditors and critics object to the very small repayment and want insolvency law revised and fuller repayment pursued.
Critics and creditors
Subhash Chandra’s position
Size of repayment
Critics and creditors
Critics say paying Rs 6.25 crore against Rs 22,006.57 crore in admitted claims is unacceptable and a travesty of justice.
Subhash Chandra’s position
Chandra says he sold family and personal assets, including his house, and paid everyone’s money.
Role in the debt
Critics and creditors
The article argues that claims portraying Chandra as merely a guarantor do not overcome the scale of the admitted claims or the tribunal’s repayment figure.
Subhash Chandra’s position
Some media narratives cited in the article characterize Chandra as a guarantor rather than a debtor.
Media and political treatment
Critics and creditors
The article says the government should distance itself from Chandra and support creditors to avoid allegations of cronyism.
Subhash Chandra’s position
Chandra accused Mukesh Ambani of using his media channels, specifically CNBC-TV18, to campaign against him; the article also says Chandra is widely viewed as close to the saffron establishment.
Key facts
- Tribunal decision
- The National Company Law Tribunal approved Subhash Chandra’s repayment plan on August 25.
- Payment to creditors
- Rs 6.25 crore
- Insolvency-process costs
- Rs 25 lakh
- Admitted claims
- Rs 22,006.57 crore
- Reported haircut
- 99.97 per cent
- Planned challenge
- Several lenders have announced that they will challenge the ruling at the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal.
- Legal issue raised
- The article calls for amendments to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.
Quotes
Subhash Chandra
Founder of Zee and the Essel Group
“We sold our family’s assets, we sold our assets, we almost sold Zee, we did not keep anything, we even sold our house, but we paid everyone’s money.”
thehansindia.com
“I have no regrets. I will earn again. I am a pioneer. I know how to do good and new things.”
thehansindia.com











