Siti Networks: NCLT allows Vani creditor committee application

Siti Networks Limited said the National Company Law Tribunal, Mumbai, allowed Vani Agencies Private Limited's application on August 27, 2026. The application challenged Vani Agencies' related-party classification after its acquisition of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited's Rs 148 crore financial-debt claim and sought membership of the Committee of Creditors with proportionate voting rights.

Why did NCLT allow Vani Agencies' creditor committee application?

The National Company Law Tribunal, Mumbai, allowed Vani Agencies' Interlocutory Application No. 4413/2024 in Company Petition No. 690/2022 on August 27, 2026. Vani Agencies had sought to quash the Resolution Professional's decision to classify it as a related party of Siti Networks and to reconstitute the Committee of Creditors, or CoC, by including it.

Vani Agencies also requested voting share in the CoC proportionate to its admitted financial-debt claim, plus consequential benefits. Siti Networks' November 2, 2026 disclosure says the tribunal allowed the application, but it does not disclose a voting percentage, a revised CoC composition or a deadline for implementing any reconstitution.

The claim arose from an assignment completed on July 2, 2024, when Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited, or ZEEL, assigned its financial-creditor claim to Vani Agencies. The Resolution Professional, or RP, admitted the claim as financial debt after verifying and examining the documents, according to the disclosure.

What is Vani Agencies' Rs 148 crore claim against Siti Networks?

Vani Agencies' Rs 148 crore claim is the financial debt assigned by ZEEL on July 2, 2024 and subsequently admitted by the RP. The filing records Rs 148 crore for Vani Agencies in both claim columns, despite the overall listed claims declining between February 22, 2023 and August 10, 2023.

The lender schedule places Vani Agencies among eight financial creditors connected with term-loan instalments. Asset Reconstruction Company India Limited, or ARCIL, had the largest listed amount of Rs 364.77 crore as on August 10, 2023, while Indian Cable Net Company Limited, or ICNCL, had the smallest at Rs 5.16 crore.

The total listed claim amount was Rs 293.97 crore lower on August 10, 2023 than on February 22, 2023. ARCIL's listed amount increased by Rs 24.77 crore over those dates, while IndusInd Bank's fell by Rs 117.68 crore; the disclosure does not explain the individual movements.

When did Siti Networks enter corporate insolvency resolution?

Siti Networks entered the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process, or CIRP, when NCLT admitted the company under Section 7 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 on February 22, 2023. Rohit Mehra was initially appointed Interim Resolution Professional, and the public announcement dated February 25, 2023 invited claims by March 8, 2023.

A director of Siti Networks appealed the admission order before the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal, or NCLAT. NCLAT issued notice and stayed operation of the admission order on March 7, 2023, before dismissing the appeal and related interim applications on August 10, 2023.

The Interim Resolution Professional received a copy of NCLAT's August 10, 2023 final order on August 14, 2023 after business hours. Siti Networks said the dismissal upheld the admission order, vacated the interim stay and reinstated the CIRP, with board powers suspended and vested in the insolvency professional under Section 17 of the Code.

Who is Siti Networks' current Resolution Professional?

Trupal J. Patel is Siti Networks' Resolution Professional after NCLT approved his appointment on September 28, 2026. Siti Networks said it received the order approving Patel's appointment on October 12, 2026, after the CoC had approved his selection.

Patel replaced Rohit Mehra after the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India's Disciplinary Committee cancelled Mehra's registration by an order dated August 6, 2026, effective from September 6, 2026. The disclosure identifies Patel's registration number as IBBI/IPA-001/IP-P01186/2018-2019/11907.

The filing does not state whether Patel has completed the CoC reconstitution sought by Vani Agencies in its 2024 application. It also does not state whether Vani Agencies has been assigned a voting share following the August 27, 2026 NCLT order.

What litigation could still change Siti Networks' creditor figures?

Supreme Court appeals by certain financial creditors could affect subsequent Siti Networks disclosures. The appeals challenge NCLAT's July 31, 2025 judgment, which dismissed appeals against NCLT's October 1, 2024 order concerning transactions and appropriations during the CIRP stay period.

NCLT's October 1, 2024 order fixed February 22, 2023 as the insolvency commencement date and held that CIRP activities should be reckoned from that date. It also held that the Section 14 moratorium applied during the stay period and that ordinary-course expenses required to keep Siti Networks operating would be protected.

NCLAT directed lenders on October 29, 2024 to keep amounts appropriated during the stay period in a separate interest-bearing account pending the appeals. Its July 31, 2025 judgment directed financial creditors to remit those amounts to Siti Networks with accrued interest forthwith.

Siti Networks said the Supreme Court has stayed remittance by financial creditors of amounts received during the stay period. The court has also directed that no payments be made to operational creditors for liabilities relating to that period; the filing does not disclose a hearing date, the amount involved or the creditors that appealed.

Conclusion

NCLT's August 27, 2026 order allowed Vani Agencies' application challenging its related-party classification after ZEEL assigned its Rs 148 crore financial-debt claim on July 2, 2024. The disclosed order addresses a creditor-governance issue because the application sought Vani Agencies' inclusion in Siti Networks' CoC and voting rights linked to that admitted claim.

The next matters to watch are whether the CoC is reconstituted under Resolution Professional Trupal J. Patel and the outcome of the pending Supreme Court appeals over amounts received during the CIRP stay period. Siti Networks has said that any changes or additions resulting from those appeals will be incorporated in later filings.