NCLT forms 5-member bench for Chandra insolvency case

The National Company Law Tribunal has formed a five-member bench to decide the personal insolvency case of Zee Group founder Subhash Chandra after a smaller panel found no majority opinion had emerged on his proposed repayment plan. The special bench, led by NCLT President Justice (Retd.) Anupinder Singh Grewal, is scheduled to hear the matter on September 1, 2026.

The development follows a split verdict among three judicial members on whether to approve Chandra's plan to pay ₹6.25 crore to creditors against admitted claims of approximately ₹22,006.57 crore. The repayment plan, which also includes ₹25 lakh for insolvency process costs, was approved by a third member, Nilesh Sharma, on August 25, 2026. However, the original two-member bench, comprising Judicial Member Ashok Kumar Bhardwaj and Technical Member Reena Sinha Puri, concluded on August 31 that no final order could be passed because the three members had taken materially different positions.

The dispute began with a split verdict in September 2025. Bhardwaj had approved the plan but proposed it should bind only creditors who supported it, allowing dissenting banks and financial institutions to pursue independent...