Deccan Chronicle case posted to March 13

Hyderabad: The corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) case of debt-ridden Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited (DCHL) which came up for hearing on Thursday has been posted for further hearing on March 13. Ratakonda Murali, Member (Judicial), Court-I of Hyderabad Bench of National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), on Thursday took up for hearing an interim application filed by IDBI Bank, one of the financial creditors to the media house, objecting to the way proceeds from the resolution process were being distributed among financial and operational creditors.

Arguing on behalf of IDBI Bank, senior advocate S Niranjan Reddy pointed out that IDBI Bank was unfairly treated while allocating amount offered by resolution applicant Vision India Fund of Kolkata-based Srei Multiple Asset Investment Trust (SMAIT). IDBI Bank was allocated just 3.86 per cent of the total amount offered while its loan amount constituted 6.71 per cent of the total loans availed by DCHL. 

On the other hand, Canara Bank whose loan accounted for just 10.11 per cent of the total loans, was reward with more than 35 per cent of the proceeds from the resolution applicant, he pointed out.Reddy further said that ICICI Bank and Srei Infrastructure were also reward with higher allocations. He pleaded with Member (Judicia) to see that the allocations should be made in proportion to the loan amount of each financial creditor.  

Appearing for Canara Bank, senior advocate Deepak Bhattacharya maintained that the amount was distributed among the financial creditors based on the security offered to each loan, not based on the loan amount. The hearing will continue on March 13.