ZEE FOUNDER’S Rs 22,006 CRORE TO Rs 6.25 CRORE SETTLEMENT SPARKS STORM: NCLT APPROVES 99.97% HAIRCUT FOR SUBHASH CHANDRA

Sunil Negi

New Delhi, 28 August 2026

The controversy over a Rs 22,000 crore loan settlement in favour of Zee TV owner and former BJP Rajya Sabha MP Subhash Chandra is gaining ground across the country, with several videos going viral on social media accusing the media baron of getting a massive loan of Rs 22,006 crores settled for merely Rs 6.05 crores to Rs 6.50 crores through the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).

Several television channels including News18, NDTV, Aaj Tak and social media handles have telecast this news as the biggest corporate haircut in India’s personal insolvency history. The Opposition led by Rahul Gandhi has termed the NCLT as “Neta-Company Loot Tribunal” alleging crony capitalism.

In a major relief to media baron Subhash Chandra, the Delhi bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Tuesday approved a repayment plan under which he will shell out just Rs 6.25 crore plus Rs 25 lakh process cost, total Rs 6.50 crore, to settle admitted creditor claims of over Rs 22,006.57 crores in his personal insolvency resolution process. The settlement translates into a haircut of nearly 99.97 per cent for lenders, meaning creditors can recover only 0.028% of their original claims from Chandra personally.

The order was passed by judicial member Nilesh Sharma who was appointed as third member after a split verdict between Judicial Member Ashok Kumar Bhardwaj who supported the plan and Technical Member Reena Sinha Puri who raised concerns over associate-party participation and lack of forensic audit.

The plan was backed by creditors holding 80.81% voting share, mainly related parties like Veena Investments (4.99%) and World Crest Advisors (28.49%). Major lenders like LIC Housing Finance, HDFC Bank (3.2% claim), Axis Bank, Canara Bank, RBL Bank and Union Bank voted against the plan. HDFC Bank has already said it is exploring an appeal in NCLAT. LIC Housing Finance is also planning to challenge it.

Chandra has been embroiled in insolvency proceedings filed by Indiabulls Housing Finance Limited, now known as Sammaan Capital, since 2022. Chandra stood as personal guarantor for a Rs 170 crore loan given to Vivek Infracon Pvt Ltd, an Essel Group entity. After the loan turned bad, Indiabulls approached NCLT in 2022 under Section 95 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), which allows creditors to initiate insolvency against a personal guarantor.

Later 23 creditors including banks, NBFCs, HFCs, ARCs joined, taking total claims to Rs 22,006 crores.

The Zee TV owner Subhash Chandra himself appeared on Zee News on Thursday and clarified that the news is being wrongly circulated as he hasn’t personally sought a single rupee as loan from any bank or loan company like Indiabulls etc but had signed for various group companies of Essel Group as the guarantor for which he is being held responsible.

While trying to clear himself of the blot he said that a sinister campaign has been launched against him to defame his image as today he is completely bankrupt and the owner of wealth and property of merely Rs 35 crores which in the year 2018 was worth more than Rs 45,000 crores.

He said that about Rs 43,000 crores have already been paid to the various loan companies and banks by the borrowing entities and the matter just pertains to nearly Rs 1900 or Rs 3000 crores but he was just a guarantor having not sought a loan of even a penny, claims ex MP Subhash Chandra.

He said lenders’ claims of objectors are only Rs 3,992 crores, out of which Rs 620 crores has already been settled and Rs 1,113 crores offered by borrowing entities. He even threatened the owner of News18 Mukesh Ambani for deliberately launching a slanderous campaign against him despite the fact that he learnt a lot from his late father Dhirubhai Ambani. He categorically said that he will defend himself tooth and nail and has lot to destroy him whereas least to be destroyed by him (Mukesh Ambani).

Government and NCLT sources clarified to PTI and ET that the Rs 22,006 crore figure does not mean banks wrote off 99.97% of loans. The figure represents claims admitted against Chandra in his capacity as personal guarantor for loans taken by several Essel/Zee-linked companies, not debt personally borrowed by him. Only about Rs 2,574 crores of claims relate to loans where his personal guarantee was given at the time of original borrowing, most other guarantees were furnished later as additional security.

The principal corporate borrowers remain liable and the repayment plan envisages about Rs 1,494 crores in payments by those borrowers apart from Chandra’s personal contribution. Creditors retain recovery avenues against corporate borrowers, securities and assets.

Sources also noted Chandra’s net worth was shown as Rs 45,888 crores in 2017 and Rs 40,562 crores in 2018, but now Resolution Professional valuation shows personal estate worth only around Rs 31.79 crores, hence pushing him into bankruptcy would leave creditors worse off.

The controversy has reignited debate over India’s bad loan write-offs. Opposition alleges that while small farmers are harassed for Rs 50,000 loans, big corporates get huge haircuts.

According to RBI data, banks have written off over Rs 12.3 lakh crores in last 5 years. Names of those who ran out of the country after defaulting include Vijay Mallya (Kingfisher – Rs 9,000 cr), Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi (PNB scam – Rs 13,500 cr), Nitin Sandesara (Sterling Biotech – Rs 14,500 cr), Jatin Mehta (Winsome Diamonds – Rs 6,500 cr). All are fugitives declared under Fugitive Economic Offenders Act.

Similarly, many large accounts under IBC have seen 70-90% haircuts – Videocon (Rs 46,000 cr settled at Rs 2,900 cr), DHFL, Alok Industries etc. The government says write-off is accounting entry, not loan waiver, and recovery continues.

In Chandra’s case, the fight is now set to move to NCLAT where dissenting banks will challenge the 99.97% haircut, questioning how a man whose net worth was Rs 45,000 crores five years ago can today be worth only Rs 31 crores, and whether forensic audit of asset transfers to family trusts was done or not.