Venugopal Dhoot Moves Supreme Court Against NCLAT Order Excluding Videocon Foreign Oil Assets From VIL CIRP

The matter is yet to be listed by the Supreme Court.

The NCLAT on May 14, 2026 noted that Dhoot himself had earlier requested lenders in 2016 and 2017 to separate Videocon Industries from the foreign oil and gas business. It said this was done to “protect the oil and gas assets of the group from the financial stress being experienced by VIL in the domestic business.”

At the centre of the dispute is whether Brazilian and Indonesian oil and gas assets owned through Videocon Oil Ventures and related foreign subsidiaries should form part of the Videocon Industries insolvency process. Dhoot argued that lenders of Videocon Oil Ventures had also filed claims in the Videocon Industries CIRP and that both entities constituted a “single economic entity.”

However lenders led by State Bank of India contended that the foreign oil and gas assets were separately financed, ring-fenced and intended to remain outside the domestic electronics business.

Rejecting Dhoot's challenge, the Appellate Tribunal held that inclusion of the foreign assets in the Videocon Industries CIRP would interfere with the commercial wisdom of the Committee of Creditors (CoC).

The bench observed, “Videocon Industries Ltd and Videocon Oil Ventures Ltd are involved in starkly different businesses – Videocon Industries Ltd being in the market of consumer electronic products while Videocon Oil Ventures Ltd being in the business of oil products. One single entity would not have the expertise to revive these varied businesses.”

The Tribunal further held that the creditors intended separate CIRPs “to ensure different buyers with the requisite expertise for their businesses” and held that such decisions formed part of the CoC's commercial wisdom which could not be interfered with.

Separately, the NCLT Mumbai had on April 8, 2026 initiated personal insolvency proceedings against Dhoot over an alleged default of about Rs. 6,157 crores.