Subhash Chandra breaks silence on NCLT order, disputes ₹3,900 crore claim, says most group debt repaid

Subhash Chandra has disputed a claim of around ₹3,900 crore filed against him in the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), saying that the bulk of the debt raised by his group had already been repaid. In his first detailed reaction to the NCLT proceedings, Chandra said the matter relates to personal guarantees he had given to some lenders and questioned the basis of claims filed before the tribunal.

In a video message, Chandra said his group had originally borrowed around ₹45,000 crore, of which about ₹43,000 crore has been repaid, leaving around ₹2,000 crore outstanding from companies whose assets and liabilities, he said, were mismatched.

According to Chandra, the NCLT proceedings against him were related only to personal guarantees that he had provided to certain lenders. He said some of the lenders had already received their money but still submitted claims before the tribunal.

"I had signed some personal guarantees to some lenders. And I don't know why, but some lenders' entire money was also repaid. But they also entered their claim in NCLT," he said.

Chandra said there were multiple such cases and claimed that about ₹2,000 crore of the ₹3,900 crore claim came from lenders who had never invoked a personal guarantee.

Chandra says ₹620 crore claim settled

Chandra also said the Resolution Professionals appointed by the court accepted the claims submitted by the lenders.

He said claims amounting to around ₹620 crore have been settled, while the borrowing entities of his group have an offer of around ₹1,100 crore with lenders.

"The borrowing entities still have an offer of ₹1,100 crore with the lenders," Chandra said, adding that the entities of his group remained committed to repaying creditors.

Chandra said his approach to repayment had been shaped by his belief that money owed to others should be returned.

"This is my belief. And this is what the elders have taught that whoever has to give, should be given," he said.

'We sold our family's assets'

Defending his record on repayment, Chandra said he had acknowledged mistakes after his group's financial problems emerged in January 2019.

He recalled writing an open letter on 24 January 2019, saying that he had made mistakes and would repay the money owed by the group's borrowing entities.

Chandra said he subsequently pushed the borrowing entities to repay their obligations and claimed that his family had sold assets to help meet the repayments.

"We sold our family's assets, we sold our assets, we almost sold Company Z, we did not keep anything, we even rented our house, but we paid everyone's money," he said.

He claimed that the group had repaid around ₹43,000 crore of the original ₹45,000 crore borrowing.

Chandra also said some money due to the group remained stuck with state governments and that the family was pursuing those payments. He added that some properties still needed to be sold to meet outstanding obligations.

Disputes ₹45,000 crore personal wealth claim

Chandra also pushed back against what he described as a misconception that he had a personal net worth of ₹45,000 crore when he borrowed money.

He said the figure had been created by treating the group's market capitalisation or net worth as his personal wealth.

Chandra contrasted the figure with the wealth declaration he said he made when he became a Rajya Sabha member in 2016.

"In 2016, when I became a member of Rajya Sabha, I had to give a declaration and declared that my net worth was ₹39 crore some ₹70 lakhs or something," he said.

He questioned how his personal net worth could have risen from around ₹39.7 crore in 2016 to ₹45,000 crore in 2017.

"So, in 2017, how will it become ₹45,000 crore?" he said, calling the larger figure a "myth" created by others.

Says ₹6.5 crore is all that remains

Chandra also spoke about his current financial position, saying he has around ₹6.5 crore left and would have to use it to meet his obligations under the plan.

He said he has a small residential house, which he has partly rented out, and is managing his expenses from the rental income.

Despite the financial setbacks, Chandra said he had no regrets and intended to rebuild his business career.

"I will earn again. I am a pioneer. I know how to do good and new things. I will continue to do it," he said.

Plans to invest again

Chandra said he was also looking at restarting his business activities. He said he has a friend in Switzerland involved in investments and plans to meet him in the next one to two weeks to explore investments in India and elsewhere.

He added that he may borrow around ₹2–4 crore from his family and invest it in businesses to rebuild his position.

"I am a successful pioneer who started new businesses in this country and gave employment to 8,000 families and contributed to this country," Chandra said.

He also said that over his 50–52 years of working life, he believed he had contributed at least ₹70,000 crore to the financial system, while building and expanding his businesses.

Chandra ended his message by asking people not to rely on what he described as misleading messages on social media. He said people could email him directly with questions and that he would respond.