NCLT begins insolvency proceedings against The Pioneer group firm

Interim resolution professional appointed; public notice issued

The Delhi bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has initiated insolvency proceedings against a firm belonging to The Pioneer group, following a plea by one of its directors.

The Pioneer group, owned by journalist Chandan Mitra, brings out one of the country's oldest newspapers of the same name. Mitra declined comment when contacted.

But the NCLT in an order dated January 25 has appointed an interim resolution professional (IRP), who has since issued a public notice asking all creditors to come forward with their claims.

The matter pertains to an insolvency petition filed by Amit Goel, who is a director of CMYK Printech, The Pioneer group firm, in November.

Goel, who owns around 20 per cent in CMYK Printech, had given an unsecured loan of Rs 1.56 crore to the company's promoters in August 2018. The loan was converted into equity in September 2018, which was subsequently revoked in May 2019 following a board resolution. 

 

The NCLT order says that the amount due to Goel along with 12 per cent interest was not paid to him after the allocation of equity shares was revoked, forcing him to make an insolvency plea.

The IRP Ranjeet Verma, who has taken over the management of the firm, said that he met Goel on Tuesday. Mitra was not present at the meeting, he said. A committee of creditors (CoC) would be appointed after a fortnight.

The Pioneer has eight English editions and four Hindi editions, which continue to be published.

Founded by Englishman George Allen in 1865 in Allahabad, The Pioneer moved its headquarters to Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, in 1933, where it remained till 1990.

The Thapar group purchased the newspaper in 1990, selling it to its editor Chandan Mitra in 1998. The Pioneer is published from Delhi, Lucknow, Ranchi, Raipur, Bhopal, Chandigarh, Dehradun and Bhubaneswar.