CPI(M) Hits Out At NCLT Over Subhash Chandra's ₹6.5-Cr Repayment Plan Against ₹22,006-Cr Claims

The CPI(M) slammed the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Friday for approving a repayment plan of ₹6.5 crore against claims of ₹22,006.57 crore involving Zee Group founder and chairman Subhash Chandra, calling it a "mockery" of fair justice.

In a statement, the party's Politburo said lenders would suffer a loss of 99.97 per cent under the approved settlement and alleged that the decision reflects a "class bias" in favour of influential corporate borrowers.

"The approval by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) of a repayment plan of a meagre ₹6.5 crore against claims of ₹22,006.57 crore involving Zee Group Founder and Chairman Subhash Chandra is a mockery of the principles of fair justice," the Communist Party of India (Marxist) said.

It cited the case of LIC Housing Finance, which has a claim of ₹1,322.39 crore but would receive only ₹38 lakh, or 0.028 per cent of its claim, under the settlement.

The Left party said Chandra's "close ties to the BJP and the Sangh Parivar" raise concerns about the tribunal's decision, while adding that the order violated the judicial principle against bias.

The CPI(M) also alleged a broader pattern in which large corporations are allowed to accumulate huge borrowings and subsequently, settle their debts at steep discounts.

"Wilful defaulters are allowed to make windfall gains by a pliant government, allowing them to make humongous borrowings; and a few years down the line, the NCLT settles their debt with massive discounts like in the present case," it said.

The party said such settlements ultimately put the burden on taxpayers and small depositors, while politically-influential corporate borrowers benefit from large "haircuts".

"Why should ordinary taxpayers pay for the wilful default by big corporations?" it asked, alleging that "politically-influential crony capitalists" are being extended large credit and later, bailed out.

Drawing a comparison with small borrowers, the CPI(M) said indebted farmers, agricultural workers, women and daily wage workers face threats, intimidation and eviction when they are unable to repay even small loans.

The party referred to the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) household debt figure of 45.5 per cent of the GDP and cited an RTI reply from the bank which, it said, showed a loan recovery rate of 74 per cent for borrowers with loans of ₹1 crore and below, compared with 14.5 per cent for borrowers with loans of ₹100 crore and above.

The CPI(M) demanded that the NCLT order be reversed and the Centre do away with what it described as a policy of "rewarding wilful defaulters at the expense of ordinary taxpayers".