Siti Networks flags loan default as lenders’ claims rise to Rs 1,500 cr, now before SC

New Delhi: Siti Networks has disclosed significant and continuing defaults on its loan repayments, with admitted claims from lenders ranging between Rs 1,206 crore and Rs 1,500 crore, placing the scale of its financial distress at the center of its long-running insolvency battle. 

The disclosure, filed with the BSE and NSE under SEBI’s November 2019 framework for mandatory reporting of payment defaults, highlights that repayment failures on term loan instalments due on October 31, 2025, remain unresolved beyond the 30-day threshold.

According to the filing, Siti’s defaults span multiple lenders, including ARCIL, IDBI Bank, RBL Bank, Axis Bank, Aditya Birla Finance, IndusInd Bank, Vani Agencies, and Indian Cable Net Company. Claims admitted by the Resolution Professional (RP) range from Rs 1,206 crore to Rs 1,500 crore as per submissions made between February and August 2023. 

The company stated that these figures reflect the total outstanding borrowings and overall financial indebtedness currently under consideration in the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP).

The disclosure marks the latest chapter in Siti Networks’ protracted legal trajectory, which began when the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) admitted the company into insolvency proceedings on February 22, 2023, under Section 7 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). Interim Resolution Professional Rohit Mehra subsequently issued a public announcement inviting creditor claims.

However, progress stalled after Siti director Shilpi Asthana challenged the admission order before the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), which temporarily stayed the insolvency proceedings in March 2023. The appellate body ultimately dismissed the appeal in August 2023, allowing the CIRP to resume.

Fresh litigation followed in 2024 when the NCLT, through an order on October 1, reaffirmed the insolvency commencement date as February 22, 2023, and directed lenders to reverse all fund appropriations made during the stay period. 

Several banks challenged this order before the NCLAT, but the appellate tribunal upheld the NCLT’s position in July 2025 and instructed lenders to return appropriated sums along with accrued interest.

The dispute has now escalated to the Supreme Court, where financial creditors have secured an interim stay preventing the remittance of funds back to the company and restraining payments to operational creditors for liabilities incurred during the stay period.

Siti Networks clarified that the current disclosure is based on claims received from lenders as of August 10, 2023, and February 22, 2023. The company added that any developments arising from the ongoing Supreme Court proceedings will be reflected in subsequent filings, leaving the future course of the insolvency process dependent on the apex court’s final directions.