Published Sep 01, 2026 | 12:13 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 01, 2026 | 12:13 PM
Zee founder Subhash Chandra. (Videograb)
A five-member bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) stayed an August 25 order passed by a three-member bench, which had permitted Essel Group Chairman Subhash Chandra, in his capacity as guarantor, to settle his liabilities by paying ₹6.25 crore to creditors against admitted claims totaling ₹22,006.57 crore.
The August 25 settlement plan also provided for around ₹1,494 crore in payments by the principal borrowers and allowed creditors to initiate recovery against securities and other available assets of the companies.
The five-member bench issued notices to all parties and ordered that the guarantor, Subhash Chandra, “shall not alienate the properties either directly or indirectly.”
The August 25 decision, under which Chandra’s liability was settled for an amount equivalent to just 0.03% of the admitted claims, had drawn widespread criticism. Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi strongly condemned the move and dubbed the NCLT the ‘Neta-Company Loot Tribunal’.
“If a farmer doesn’t pay Rs 50,000, his land gets auctioned off. If a salaried person misses even one EMI, bank goons show up at the house. Poor students can’t even get loans for education. But for select ‘friends’, bank money is like personal property—withdraw as much as you want, repay whatever you feel like. The Modi government has created two systems in the country—one for a handful of billionaires, and another for everyone else,” Rahul charged.
Amid the backlash, Subhash Chandra accused Mukesh Ambani, whose Reliance Group owns CNBC-TV18, of being behind what he described as false reporting that fuelled the controversy.
“Mukesh ji, please stop the wrong propaganda against me personally and my group. Zee is a group company; I don’t own anything in it now, especially after implementing this NCLT order. You are Dhirubhai Ambani’s son; he was a very sensible person and a great businessman. I learned a lot from him. But it seems you haven’t learned. A person like Subhash Chandra, who has nothing left—why are you teasing him and trying to attack him? I am already empty; I have nothing to lose. You have a lot to lose,” Chandra stated, while emphasising that he was only a guarantor.
Defending his financial record, Chandra further claimed, “As I stated… our corporate companies had a debt of 45,000 crores hanging over us, our family, and our group… We sold all our assets and paid back Rs 43,000 to Rs 45,000 crores, which I mentioned… Only two accounts remain now. The assets held by both of those banks and institutions are more than adequate. They will not suffer any losses.”
The Reliance Group said it had noted the remarks with dismay and dismissed them as baseless.
“We strongly deny the allegations and insinuations against the media entities that are a part of the Reliance Group. Our media brands have never been used to attack anyone, nor will they ever be,” the company said in a statement.
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