NCLT declares Videocon's Venugopal Dhoot bankrupt in SBI's Rs 1.26 lakh cr claim

Mumbai: The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has admitted the plea filed by State Bank of India to initiate bankruptcy proceedings against Venugopal Dhoot, erstwhile promoter and director of Videocon Industries, and declared him bankrupt in connection with personal guarantees extended for credit facilities availed by the Videocon group.

The order follows the rejection of Dhoot's repayment proposal involving a real estate development project in Siliguri, through which he had offered to repay Rs 600 crore over 36 months. The proposal, representing 0.42% of the admitted dues, was rejected after creditors found it contingent on future development, regulatory approvals and cash flows.

A Mumbai bench of the tribunal, comprising judicial member Vinay Goel and technical member Charanjeet Singh Gulati, passed the order on Thursday, after finding that SBI's application complied with the requirements under Section 123 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.


The total amount in default, including interest and penalties, stood at Rs 1,26,680 crore as of September end, according to the application. The outstanding comprises Rs 93,221 crore under rupee term loan facilities, Rs 14,378 crore under facilities originally extended to Videocon Telecommunications and Rs 19,082 crore under working capital facilities.

“On admission of the bankruptcy petition, the entire estate will vest with the trustee and Dhoot will not have any control on any of his assets,” said Ashish Pyasi, founding partner of law firm Aendri Legal. “As per the law, the trustee will invite the claims from the creditors and after following the procedure, the trustee will use the estate for paying off the creditors.”

Dhoot had provided personal guarantees for the credit facilities extended to Videocon Industries by SBI and its erstwhile associate banks. These included State Bank of Hyderabad, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Travancore, State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur and State Bank of Patiala, which were merged with SBI in April 2017.

The bankruptcy proceedings follow the failure of the personal insolvency resolution process initiated against Dhoot. The tribunal had admitted SBI's application under Section 95 of the IBC in April 2026 and appointed Asish Narayan as the resolution professional.

During the process, Dhoot submitted a revised repayment proposal backed by a detailed project report for the proposed Siliguri development. The resolution professional subsequently reported that the proposal offered no upfront repayment and had not been prepared in consultation with him as required under the IBC.

The proposed repayment mechanism depended on the successful development of the Siliguri project, with potential realisations expected only after three to four years. Creditors did not approve the proposal. The tribunal rejected the repayment plan in July, terminated the personal insolvency resolution process and allowed creditors to pursue bankruptcy proceedings.

Following the latest order, the tribunal has appointed Narayan as the bankruptcy trustee. Dhoot has been directed to submit his statement of financial position to the trustee within seven days of the bankruptcy commencement date.

The trustee will administer the bankrupt's estate, invite claims from creditors and distribute the estate in accordance with the provisions of the IBC. The trustee must also submit a preliminary report to the tribunal and the committee of creditors within 90 days. The bankruptcy order will remain in effect until Dhoot is discharged under Section 138 of the IBC.