The National Company Law Tribunal on September 1 stayed its earlier order allowing Zee Group founder Subhash Chandra to settle his personal insolvency proceedings by paying Rs. 6.25 crore against admitted claims of Rs. 22,006 crore and also restrained him from alienating his assets and properties. A five-member special bench, headed by Tribunal chief Anupinder Singh Grewal, said that there was no clear majority view on the repayment plan, and put on hold the earlier order.
The litigation has remained inconclusive over the last year because of dissenting orders. A two-member NCLT bench had delivered a split verdict in September last year, with one member approving the repayment plan and the other rejecting it, citing irregularities in the admission of claims and voting. The case was then refreed to a third member, who on August 25 approved the repayment plan, subject to exclusion of certain disputed claims and reallocation of their share among eligible creditors. But the third member’s order was then found to have not produced a clear majority when read with the earlier split verdict, and this led to the constitution of the five-member special bench.
Analysing all three orders passed by different members, the five-member bench said, “It is manifest that as per section 419 (5) of the Companies Act, 2013, there is no clear majority view capable of being given effect to; therefore, the order dated August 25 of the third member, Nilesh Sharma, member (judicial), is stayed. We also direct that the personal guarantor shall not alienate any assets whatsoever either directly or indirectly. Let notice be issued to the parties in all the IAs (interim applications). Reply, if any, may be filed before the next date of hearing.”
The Tribunal posted the case for hearing on September 23. The dispute has also reached the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT).