NCLT Mumbai Admits Canara Bank's Plea Against SAB TV Group Company Krishna Showbiz Over ₹261 Crore Dues

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) at Mumbai has admitted Canara Bank's plea against SAB TV promoter group company Krishna Showbiz Services Pvt Ltd, after finding that the firm had defaulted on dues of over Rs 261 crore.

A bench of Judicial Member Nilesh Sharma and Technical Member Sameer Kakar held that Canara Bank had placed sufficient material on record to establish the existence of debt and default. Admitting the case under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), the tribunal observed:

“We find that requisite conditions necessary to trigger CIRP in respect of the CD are fulfilled. The Application is complete as all the relevant documents have been attached by the Applicant along with the Application. As a result, the matter deserves to be admitted under Section 7 of the Code.”

Krishna Showbiz Services is part of the group promoted by Gautam Adhikari and Markand Adhikari, the promoters of SAB TV. The company operates in the media and entertainment business and forms part of the wider SAB TV promoter group.

The insolvency case arises from credit facilities extended by Canara Bank to Krishna Showbiz. The bank had sanctioned a term loan of over Rs 100 crore to the company on January 9, 2014. The loan was disbursed in multiple tranches and was secured by hypothecation of assets, along with corporate and personal guarantees. Personal guarantees were executed on April 17, 2014 by Gautam Adhikari and Markand Adhikari.

According to the bank, Krishna Showbiz committed repeated defaults in repayment. Its loan account was classified as a non-performing asset on September 15, 2017. The bank later issued a demand notice under the SARFAESI Act on March 31, 2018 and invoked the guarantees in April 2018.

Canara Bank also pointed out that the company repeatedly acknowledged its liability. This included a written acknowledgment dated September 30, 2016, and continued reflection of the outstanding loan amount in its balance sheets up to the financial year 2023–24. Despite these acknowledgments, the dues remained unpaid.

Krishna Showbiz did not dispute the debt before the tribunal. It admitted the principal outstanding amount claimed by Canara Bank and stated that it had “no objection in admitting this Application”.

The tribunal noted that continued disclosure of the outstanding loan in the company's balance sheets amounted to a clear acknowledgment of liability, which also extended the limitation period for filing the insolvency plea.

The tribunal accordingly admitted the insolvency plea against Krishna Showbiz , imposed a moratorium, and appointed Mayank Rameshchandra Jain as the Interim Resolution Professional. It also directed Canara Bank to deposit Rs 3 lakh towards the initial costs of the insolvency process.