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The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) halted the commencement of insolvency proceedings against Zee Entertainment Enterprises on Friday (Zee). The move came after Zee’s CEO, Punit Goenka, opposed the proceedings against the corporation.
IndusInd Bank has also received a notice from the NCLAT. The case has been rescheduled until March 29.
In court, Goenka’s lawyer, Mukul Rohatgi, argued that the debt should be recovered through the Debts Recovery Tribunal rather than the Insolvency Code.
They claimed that Zee had provided a particular guarantee for only one tranche of interest repayment, not for Siti’s obligation. Goenka further argued that the NCLAT heard no arguments before moving against Zee.
During this week, the NCLAT granted IndusInd Bank permission to petition for bankruptcy against Zee. Siti Networks was also served with an insolvency petition by IndusInd.
Goenka further stated that the full sum was not recoverable from Zee and that the claim of Rs 83 crore is the primary amount owed to Siti, for which Zee never gave a guarantee.
According to Mint, IndusInd Bank said that Zee was aware that bankruptcy procedures were underway in NCLT and assumed a risk by failing to reply to the insolvency proceedings.
