Mumbai: Venugopal Nandlal Dhoot, the former promoter and director of Videocon Industries, has been declared bankrupt by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) over the default of Rs 12,668 crore loans from the State Bank of India (SBI).
In an order passed on Thursday, the Mumbai bench of the tribunal directed that Dhoot’s estate be vested in bankruptcy trustee Ashish Narayan and distributed among the creditors. The creditors had earlier rejected the Rs 600 crore repayment plan from Dhoot.
The case relates to the personal guarantees furnished by Dhoot for credit facilities or loans granted to Videocon Industries limited and Videocon Telecommunications Limited during 2010 and 2012. The companies had availed rupee term loans and working capital facilities from SBI and its associated banks, who were merged in April 2017, where Dhoot had unconditionally guaranteed the due repayment and discharge of all sums of money and liabilities, as reported by The Indian Express.
Videocon Industries defaulted on loan though and was admitted into the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) in June 2018. That process was consolidated with those of 12 other Videocon group companies by an NCLT order in August 2019.
The SBI had issued demand notices to Venugopal Dhoot in February 2018 seeking the repayment of loans before the companies went into insolvency.
The SBI also got a separate personal insolvency resolution process initiated against Dhoot in April 2026 for not presenting any repayment plan of its dues. After two months, the personal guarantor submitted a Combined Repayment Plan with a Detailed Project Report for a proposed development at Siliguri, offering Rs 600 crores over 36 months. The petition states this to be just 0.42% of the admitted dues.
The proposed repayment mechanism was substantially contingent on future development, approvals and cash flows that could not be verified, and offers nothing upfront and any realisation the resolution professional in the case opined.
Due to these uncertainties in the repayment, the creditors agreed to close the personal insolvency and initiate bankruptcy process against Dhoot.
The NCLT rejected Dhoot’s repayment plan in July, 2026 and initiated the bankruptcy process for the default of Rs 12,668 crore loans (including interest and penalties), as submitted by SBI.
Dhoot has been directed by the tribunal to submit details of his financial position to the Bankruptcy Trustee. The Bankruptcy Trustee shall issue a public notice inviting claims from the creditors and conduct the administration and distribution of the estate of the bankrupt in accordance with the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.
