The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has taken a significant step in the personal insolvency proceedings against Subhash Chandra, the founder of Zee Group, by establishing a five-member bench. This decision comes after a two-member bench failed to reach a consensus on Chandra’s proposed repayment plan. The plan initially suggested a payment of ₹6.25 crore to creditors, contrasting sharply with the admitted claims that total ₹22,006.57 crore.
Justice (Retd) Anupinder Singh Grewal, the President of the NCLT, has formed this special bench. It includes Judicial Members Bachu Venkat Balaram Das and Mahendra Khandelwal, along with Technical Members Atul Chaturvedi and Ravindra Chaturvedi. The bench is scheduled to hear the case at 10:15 AM on September 1.
The complexity arose when the initial two-member bench, comprising Judicial Member Ashok Kumar Bhardwaj and Technical Member Reena Sinha Puri, concluded on August 31 that they could not issue a final order based on the opinion of a third member, Nilesh Sharma. The three-member panel had expressed divergent views regarding the repayment plan.
Initially, Bhardwaj supported the plan but only for creditors who were in favor of it, suggesting that dissenting creditors, such as banks and financial institutions, should be allowed to pursue independent recovery actions. In contrast, Puri dismissed the plan due to what she identified as significant procedural flaws by the resolution professional.
Given this split decision, the case was referred to Judicial Member Nilesh Sharma under Section 419(5) of the Companies Act, 2013. On August 25, Sharma recommended approving the repayment plan but excluded certain claims filed by Anil Kumar on behalf of 960 individuals and Sunil Jain on behalf of 300 individuals. He instructed the resolution professional to reallocate the funds initially designated for these claims among the other eligible creditors.
Upon returning to the original two-member bench, it was noted that Sharma had delivered an independent ruling rather than aligning fully with either of the preceding opinions.
In parallel, LIC Housing Finance has contested Sharma’s August 25 decision at the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT). Solicitor General Tushar Mehta has requested an expedited hearing, slated for August 31, emphasizing that maintaining the current order could undermine the objectives of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). The appeal is also set for hearing on September 1.
