Mumbai court declares Dhout bankrupt as SBI claims 12,668.06 crore rupees
Key Facts
The Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal declared Venugopal Nandlal Dhoot, former promoter and director of Videocon Industries, bankrupt and admitted a petition by State Bank of India (SBI), moving the case from personal insolvency resolution to proceedings to administer his estate and distribute it to creditors. SBI’s total claimed default, including interest and penalties, stood at 12,668.06 crore rupees as of September 30, 2026, according to Business Standard, citing Press Trust of India. The amount relates to credit facilities extended by the bank to Dhoot against personal guarantees, while Videocon Telecommunications received part of the facilities as a co-obligor. The court appointed Ashish Narayan as bankruptcy trustee and ordered Dhoot’s estate transferred to him to administer the bankruptcy proceedings and distribute it to creditors. The court said, "We are satisfied that the petition meets all the requirements set out in Section 123 of the Act, and therefore consider its admission to be the appropriate course of action."
The claim comprised 9,322.10 crore rupees under a rupee term loan, 1,437.76 crore rupees from facilities linked to Videocon Telecommunications, and 1,908.19 crore rupees from working capital facilities. These components formed part of the total claimed default as of September 30, 2026, an amount that includes interest and penalties, according to Business Standard, citing PTI. The claim details indicate that the largest portion relates to the rupee term loan, while the remainder is tied to the subsidiary’s facilities and working capital financing. The original facilities date back to Videocon Industries, which borrowed from SBI and its former associate banks: Hyderabad, Mysore, Travancore, Bikaner, Jaipur and Patiala. Videocon Telecommunications also used part of the financing as a co-obligor, according to case details cited in the report.
The personal guarantees relate to loans Videocon Industries obtained from SBI and its former associate banks, and the bank invoked those guarantees through demand notices in February 2018. Videocon Telecommunications benefited from some of the facilities as a co-obligor, according to case details published by Business Standard, citing PTI. Dhoot’s personal insolvency proceedings began on April 8, 2026, and on June 16 he submitted a repayment plan offering to pay 600 crore rupees over 36 months through a proposed development project in Siliguri. The plan did not prevent the move to bankruptcy proceedings: the court rejected it on July 17 and ended the personal insolvency process. SBI subsequently filed the bankruptcy petition on September 24, within the statutory deadline, according to the report.
The plan relied on a proposed development project in Siliguri to fund the offer to repay 600 crore rupees over 36 months. The report said the plan depended on approvals and future cash flows and did not include an upfront payment, factors considered during its assessment in the personal insolvency proceedings. On July 17, 2026, the court rejected the plan under Section 114 and ended those proceedings, prompting SBI to return to the bankruptcy track with a petition filed on September 24. SBI filed the petition within the three-month period stipulated in Section 121(2), according to Business Standard, citing PTI. By admitting the petition on the basis that it met the requirements of Section 123, the case moved into an implementation phase handled by the bankruptcy trustee under the court’s supervision.
The court ordered Dhoot to submit a statement of his financial position to the bankruptcy trustee within seven days of the start of the bankruptcy proceedings. The trustee must also submit an initial report to the court and the creditors’ committee within 90 days, followed by quarterly reports. This schedule places the financial information before the bankruptcy trustee and creditors’ committee within specified timeframes, with regular monitoring of the proceedings’ progress. Administration of Dhoot’s estate passes to the bankruptcy trustee for distribution to creditors, under the court’s order. These steps mark the next phase following the appointment of Ashish Narayan and the admission of SBI’s petition, according to Business Standard, citing PTI.