MUMBAI: Reliance Industries has rejected allegations by Essel Group chairman Subhash Chandra against its media businesses, describing the claims as unfounded, even as some lenders prepare to challenge a tribunal-approved settlement in his insolvency proceedings. A spokesperson for the Mukesh Ambani-controlled conglomerate said the group was “dismayed” by Chandra’s remarks and denied any suggestion that its media platforms had been used to target individuals.“Our media brands have never been used to attack anyone, nor will they ever be,” the spokesperson said, adding that Reliance continued to hold Chandra “in high regard” as a businessman and entrepreneur.The comments come amid a dispute over the resolution of Chandra’s insolvency case, which involves admitted claims of Rs 22,006 crore and has drawn objections from a section of creditors. On his news channel, Chandra alleged a ‘witch hunt’ against him by Ambani’s media group and said it had published false reports that NCLT had cleared Zee’s debt for only Rs 6.5 crore. He also alleged that Ambani’s associates had orchestrated a 40% crash in Zee’s share price in a single day in Jan 2019, when his financial difficulties had begun. He further claimed that Ambani’s associates operated “hundreds and thousands of benami shell entities” to conduct stock market operations, making their involvement difficult to trace.Chandra also alleged that Ambani had later sought to take over Zee in collusion with Invesco, then a Zee investor. He said the proposed transaction would have been financially beneficial to his family but unfair to minority shareholders, prompting Zee shareholders to reject it.
