NCLT declares Videocon promoter Dhoot bankrupt over ₹12,668 crore SBI debt

The Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has issued a formal declaration of bankruptcy against Venugopal Nandlal Dhoot, the former promoter and director of Videocon Industries, in connection with substantial loan defaults to State Bank of India. The order, passed by a two-member NCLT bench on Thursday, follows SBI's petition citing dues amounting to ₹12,668 crore that remain outstanding.

Dhoot had extended personal guarantees for credit facilities extended by SBI and its erstwhile associate banks—now merged into the public sector lender—to Videocon Industries. The tribunal's declaration formally recognises his inability to meet these financial obligations, effectively declaring him insolvent under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.

As part of the bankruptcy proceedings, the NCLT has appointed a Bankruptcy Trustee tasked with conducting the formal insolvency process. The trustee has been directed to issue a public notice calling for submission of claims from all of Dhoot's creditors. Following verification of these claims, the estate and assets of the bankrupt individual will be liquidated and distributed proportionally among creditors.

Dhoot has been mandated to submit a comprehensive statement of his financial position to the Bankruptcy Trustee as part of the formal bankruptcy administration process. The declaration marks a significant development in the long-running dispute between the banking sector and the industrialist over the Videocon Industries debt crisis.