Athira Sethu
Kochi, 28 August 2026
HDFC Bank and LIC Housing Finance are intending to oppose an order passed by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in a case involving an amount of ₹22,006 crores for borrowings of the companies related to the Zee Group.
The case is related to Subhash Chandra, chairman of the Zee Group, who had personally guaranteed certain borrowings made by various companies of the group.
The settlement scheme has been approved by the NCLT on Tuesday. As per the settlement scheme, the primary borrowers would pay an amount of ₹1,494 crores to the lenders. The personal guarantor, i.e., Subhash Chandra, would pay ₹6.25 crores.
The scheme of arrangement has been approved by the Committee of Creditors. It has been approved by 80.8% of the creditors. However, some major lenders like LIC Housing Finance, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Canara Bank, RBL Bank and Union Bank have opposed the scheme.
LIC Housing Finance plans to appeal the NCLT judgment before the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT). It might also appeal to National Housing Bank (NHB), which is the leading development institution in India’s housing finance sector.
HDFC Bank has announced that it is considering appealing against this judgment. The bank had opposed the proposal and voted against it, but the plan got approved because the majority of the creditors agreed with it.
What Is Making These Banks Oppose This Plan?
The main complaint of LIC Housing Finance about this plan was the extremely low payment being made when compared to the admitted claim of ₹22,006 crore. Only ₹6.25 crore has been proposed to be paid from Subhash Chandra’s end, according to the firm.
But government officials claimed that it would not be right to consider that banks have lost almost 99.97% of the ₹22,006 crore.
This is because Subhash Chandra did not borrow any money directly in the form of ₹22,006 crore. This amount shows the total claims against him as he had personally guaranteed the loans taken by various Zee and Essel Group firms.
However, these borrowers shall remain solely liable for their respective loan accounts. As per the agreement reached in the restructuring proposal, such borrowers are supposed to pay roughly ₹1,494 crore while Chandra will make a payment of ₹6.25 crore.
The officials also informed that only about ₹2,574 crore out of the total amount pertained to the loans for which Chandra had made an individual guarantee at the time of taking out the loan, and the remaining part came after that.
Chandra’s proposal for repayment of his debt was passed by the Delhi Bench of the National Company Law Tribunal under Section 114 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. The objections of the lenders opposing the plan were also dismissed by the tribunal.
Now HDFC Bank and LIC Housing Finance are ready to approach the Appellate Tribunal against this decision.
