NCLT declares Videocon’s Venugopal Dhoot bankrupt in SBI’s Rs 12,668 cr claim

Mumbai: The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) admitted State Bank of India’s petition to initiate bankruptcy proceedings against Venugopal Dhoot, former chairman of Videocon Industries, and declared him bankrupt in connection with personal guarantees extended for credit facilities availed of by the Videocon group.

The NCLT order came after SBI rejected Dhoot’s proposal involving a real estate development in Siliguri to repay Rs 600 crore over 36 months. The proposal represented much lower than the admitted dues. SBI rejected the proposal as the bank 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.


The amount in default, including interest and penalties, totaled Rs 12,668 crore as of September end, according to SBI’s application. This included Rs 9,322 crore under rupee term loan facilities, Rs 1,438 crore under facilities originally extended to Videocon Telecommunications and Rs 1,908 crore of 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 claims from 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: State Bank of Hyderabad, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Travancore, State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur and State Bank of Patiala. These banks merged with SBI in April 2017.

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

During the process, Dhoot submitted a revised repayment proposal backed by a project report for the proposed Siliguri development. The resolution professional 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-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.

After Thursday’s order, the tribunal 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.