Archive · 29 Aug 2026
Lenders Challenge NCLT Approval of Subhash Chandra Repayment Plan
Subhash Chandra is involved in a personal insolvency case connected to loans taken by Essel Group-linked companies.
Indiabulls Housing Finance started the case against him.
A tribunal approved a plan for Chandra to pay about ₹6.25-6.5 crore.
Lenders say the admitted claims in the case total about ₹22,006.57 crore.
This would allow creditors to recover only a very small part of the money they claim.
Union Bank, LIC Housing Finance and Canara Bank opposed the plan and will appeal to a higher tribunal.
HDFC Bank is also considering an appeal.
Chandra says he did not personally borrow the money and only guaranteed loans taken by other companies.
He also says the ₹22,006 crore figure represents total claims filed, not his final personal liability.
Union Bank of India, LIC Housing Finance and Canara Bank will challenge the NCLT-approved repayment plan before the NCLAT.
The plan was approved with support from creditors holding 80.81% of the voting share, despite opposition from several lenders.
The plan provides approximately ₹6.25-6.5 crore against admitted claims of about ₹22,006.57 crore.
Creditors are projected to recover roughly 0.03%, implying a haircut of nearly 99.97%.
HDFC Bank is considering an appeal, while Subhash Chandra disputes the debt figures and says he acted as a personal guarantor.
- Who
- Subhash Chandra, Union Bank of India, LIC Housing Finance, Canara Bank, HDFC Bank and other financial creditors are involved.
- What
- Lenders are challenging the National Company Law Tribunal's approval of Chandra's personal insolvency repayment plan.
- When
- The appeals were announced on August 29, 2026; HDFC Bank said earlier that week it was considering an appeal.
- Where
- The challenge will be filed before the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal against an order of the National Company Law Tribunal.
- Why
- The lenders object to the plan because it offers about ₹6.25-6.5 crore against admitted claims of ₹22,006.57 crore, while Chandra disputes how his liability has been calculated.
Lenders' Position
Subhash Chandra's Position
Approval of the repayment plan
Lenders' Position
Union Bank of India, LIC Housing Finance, Canara Bank and other lenders voted against the plan and say it should not have been approved. They are seeking review before the NCLAT.
Subhash Chandra's Position
The plan was approved by the NCLT after receiving the required majority support from certain private creditors.
Scale of the liability
Lenders' Position
The lenders' case refers to admitted claims of approximately ₹22,006.57 crore, while the plan provides only about ₹6.25-6.5 crore.
Subhash Chandra's Position
Chandra says ₹22,006 crore represents total claims filed in the proceedings and should not be treated as the current amount payable or his final liability. He puts the amount linked to objecting creditors at nearly ₹3,900 crore.
Chandra's role in the borrowing
Lenders' Position
LIC Housing Finance says it will continue pursuing the principal borrowers regardless of the outcome of Chandra's personal insolvency proceedings.
Subhash Chandra's Position
Chandra says he did not personally borrow from the lenders and acted only as a personal guarantor for loans taken by Essel Group-linked entities.
- Case initiator
- Indiabulls Housing Finance Limited initiated the personal insolvency proceedings against Subhash Chandra.
- Approved repayment
- Reports describe the approved payment as approximately ₹6.25 crore to ₹6.5 crore.
- Admitted claims
- Approximately ₹22,006.57 crore.
- Estimated recovery
- Around 0.03%, or roughly three paise for every ₹100 claimed.
- Estimated haircut
- Nearly 99.97% for creditors.
- Plan approval support
- Creditors representing 80.81% of the voting share supported the plan.
- HDFC Bank position
- HDFC Bank said its admitted claim represented 3.2% of the total stated claims; reports cited its claim as ₹680 crore or approximately ₹705 crore.
- LIC Housing Finance claim
- LIC Housing Finance reported an admitted claim of ₹1,322.39 crore and said it would continue pursuing the principal borrowers.
Sources
Essel Group debt: Now, LIC Housing Finance, Union Bank to challenge NCLT's repayment plan
Subhash Chandra insolvency: Union Bank to challenge NCLT order approving ₹6.5-crore repayment plan
Lenders line up against NCLT order on Chandra
Union Bank To Challenge Approval Of Subhash Chandra's Insolvency Plan
