HDFC Bank plans to appeal before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) against the latter's approval of a ₹6.5 crore repayment plan, in the admitted claim of ₹22,006.57 crore, to resolve the personal insolvency proceedings of Zee Group founder and chairman emeritus Subhash Chandra.
In a statement, India’s largest private lender said its admitted claim in the matter was only 3.2 percent of the total stated claim amount. The bank also clarified that the facility involved in the proceedings was inherited by the HDFC Bank from HDFC Ltd.
"With regard to the referred NCLT matter, HDFC Bank's admitted claim was only 3.2 per cent of the total stated claim amount," the bank said.
The NCLT approved a repayment plan allowing creditors to receive around ₹6.5 crore against admitted claims totaling ₹22,006.57 crore, reflecting a significant reduction in recoverable amounts.
HDFC Bank opposed the repayment plan as it represents only 3.2% of their total admitted claim. The bank expressed concerns over the substantial haircut involved in the approved plan.
The case began with a ₹170-crore loan taken by Vivek Infracon, for which Subhash Chandra was a personal guarantor. When the loan defaulted, Indiabulls Housing Finance initiated insolvency proceedings against him in 2022.
The recovery is low due to the substantial difference between the admitted claims of ₹22,006.57 crore and the approved payment of ₹6.5 crore, which indicate that creditors are recovering only a fraction of their claims.
The approved repayment plan, allowing for a recovery of just ₹6.5 crore, means that creditors will face a haircut of nearly 99.97%, recovering only about three paise for every ₹100 owed.
The bank said it had opposed the resolution and voted against the repayment plan, which was nevertheless approved by the majority of creditors.
The case pertains to what government sources described as "an exceptional personal-guarantor resolution" matter involving Zee Group's Subhash Chandra. The roots of the case go back to a loan taken by Vivek Infracon, according to NDTV.
Chandra had provided a personal guarantee for a ₹170-crore loan. When the loan went bad, Indiabulls Housing Finance moved against Chandra. The lender filed the insolvency case in 2022. The NCLT later admitted the personal insolvency proceedings against Chandra in April 2024.
Indiabulls Housing Finance, meanwhile, was renamed Sammaan Capital in 2024. There was an earlier attempt to settle the matter. But that settlement did not ultimately materialise, NDTV reported.
After the Supreme Court upheld the relevant provisions of the IBC in November 2023, the insolvency proceedings were revived in February 2024.
Lenders said that admitted claims worth ₹22,006.57 crore. The repayment plan offered only ₹6.5 crore.
Chandra said earlier he had never personally borrowed money from the lenders. “There is no personal borrowing by Dr. Subhash Chandra from any of the creditors named in the order or from any other creditor/lender. He only signed personal guarantees,” the statement said.
