Quadrant Televentures Resolution Plan Approved: NCLT Clears Fastway's ₹231.50 Crore Bid

The Mumbai Bench-I of the National Company Law Tribunal has approved the Quadrant Televentures resolution plan submitted by Fastway Transmissions Private Limited, by an order pronounced on 3 November 2026 in IA (IB) (Plan) No. 74 of 2026 in CP(IB) No. 472 of 2024. The plan offers a total realisable amount of ₹231.50 crore against admitted claims of ₹2,815.21 crore, cancels the promoters' shares for nil consideration, cuts the share capital in a 200:1 ratio and leaves public shareholders with 5% of the restructured company.

Quadrant Televentures Limited is a listed company, incorporated in 1946, that provides telephone, internet and data services under a Unified Licence and an ISP Category-A licence for the Punjab telecom service area. The Tribunal admitted it into the corporate insolvency resolution process on 2 September 2025 on a Section 7 application filed by IDBI Trusteeship Services Limited. The committee of creditors was constituted on 25 September 2025, and Rajesh Jhunjhunwala has been the resolution professional since an order of 12 January 2026, having replaced Atul Kumar Bansal.

Fastway's ₹231.50 crore plan against ₹2,815 crore of admitted claims

Fastway's plan is dated 19 June 2026, with an addendum of 8 July 2026 and clarifications issued on 1, 10 and 12 August 2026. The committee of creditors approved it with 100% of the voting share in e-voting that closed on 12 August 2026. The bench, comprising Prabhat Kumar (Member, Technical) and Sushil Mahadeorao Kochey (Member, Judicial), found the plan compliant with Section 30(2) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, Section 29A, and Regulations 37, 38, 38(1A) and 39(4) of the CIRP Regulations. Relying on K. Sashidhar v. Indian Overseas Bank, it confined itself to the scrutiny that Section 31 permits and did not second-guess the commercial wisdom of the creditors.

The valuation numbers put the offer in context. Fair value was assessed at ₹228.25 crore and liquidation value at ₹178.85 crore, so the plan pays 101.42% of fair value and 129.44% of liquidation value. Measured against what creditors were owed, the picture is very different: total claims lodged were ₹5,739.18 crore, of which ₹2,815.21 crore was admitted, and the plan's ₹231.50 crore works out to about 8.22% of admitted claims.

The table below sets out how the money is split between stakeholder classes, as recorded in the order.

The plan also earmarks ₹1.52 crore for other debts and dues and keeps a contingency of ₹41,93,270. Shareholders receive nothing in cash. Government dues, admitted at ₹283.16 crore, are being settled for ₹2.83 crore, roughly 1% of the admitted figure, which is the outcome the Department of Telecommunications tried to resist before the Tribunal.

Share capital reduction: what happens to Quadrant Televentures shareholders

For anyone holding Quadrant Televentures shares, the equity restructuring matters more than the creditor payouts. The share capital is reduced in a 200:1 ratio. The promoters' 1,13,26,815 equity shares are cancelled for nil consideration. After the reduction, the public will hold 30,61,301 equity shares of ₹10 each, equal to 5% of the restructured capital, and Fastway will be allotted 5,81,64,725 equity shares by preferential allotment, giving it 95%. The order directs that shares issued to the public be listed forthwith on the exchange where the company is currently listed.

As an illustration of the 200:1 ratio, a public shareholder holding 10,000 shares before the reduction would hold 50 shares afterwards (10,000 ÷ 200 = 50). The holding's share of the company shrinks with it, because Fastway's fresh allotment takes the promoter group's place and dilutes the public to 5%. The order does not set a record date; that will come through the company's stock exchange disclosures once the restructuring is carried out.

Fastway will bring in ₹58.16 crore as equity, with the rest of its funding coming as a loan convertible into equity. It deposited earnest money of ₹10 crore on 2 May 2026 and has furnished a performance guarantee of ₹23.15 crore valid till 12 February 2028. The Tribunal made the debt-to-equity conversion and capital reduction subject to SEBI regulations, including the minimum 5% public shareholding requirement, and did not expressly grant the SEBI relaxations Fastway had sought.

DoT's objections: AGR dues, interest under Clause 20.7 and the ₹416.33 crore contingent claim

The Department of Telecommunications filed IA (IBC) 4314 of 2026, which was reserved for orders on 21 October 2026. It sought to revise its Category 1 licence fee and spectrum usage charge (AGR) dues from ₹270.02 crore to ₹271.45 crore, and separately pressed a revised claim of ₹878.24 crore dated 21 August 2026. It asked for three things: that interest be computed under Clause 20.7 of the licence agreement, which treats part of a month as a full month; that the resolution professional disclose the liquidation value and DoT's entitlement under Section 53(1); and that an escrow or provision of ₹416.33 crore be created pending Civil Appeal No. 220 of 2021 in the Supreme Court. It also asked that approval be held back until these demands were met.

The Tribunal split the outcome. On interest, it held that Clause 20.7 is clear and "requires no interpretation", and directed the resolution professional to recompute interest on that basis and admit the claim accordingly. It also directed that DoT's claim be revised in line with the Supreme Court's judgment of 1 September 2020, if that had not already been done, citing the duty under Regulation 14(2) to revise claims as soon as practicable. The liquidation value had already been shared with DoT's counsel on 21 October 2026. The request for a ₹416.33 crore escrow failed: the resolution professional had admitted that amount as a contingent claim at a notional value of ₹1, and the bench held that this approach "can not be faulted".

Why the Supreme Court's spectrum ruling did not block the plan

DoT relied on State Bank of India v. Union of India, 2026 INSC 153 (Civil Appeal No. 1810 of 2021), the Supreme Court decision arising from the Aircel and Reliance Communications insolvencies, which dealt with transfer of telecom licences and spectrum under the Code and held that the obligation to clear dues before trading spectrum is absolute. The Tribunal held that ruling inapplicable here because Quadrant Televentures holds no spectrum and no spectrum transfer is involved; the company holds only non-exclusive licences, with the ISP Category-A licence valid till 2035.

Transfer of the licences to the new management remains subject to DoT's approval and whatever conditions DoT imposes, and Fastway has undertaken to comply. The plan is drafted to proceed even if approval is delayed or refused, with Fastway operating under the existing licence in the interim and expecting clearances within six months. The Tribunal recorded that liabilities directly attributable to the telecom and ISP licences, including licence fees, AGR, penalties and interest, stand settled in terms of the plan. It also carved out the ISP licence from the general direction that approvals and permits cannot be refused merely because past dues were extinguished, and made all waivers subject to the concerned authorities.

Reliefs, extinguished claims and the implementation timeline

Applying the Supreme Court's Ghanshyam Mishra ruling, claims not forming part of the plan stand extinguished, and any relief not specifically addressed in the order is deemed rejected. No tax demand or penalty for the period up to approval can be enforced against the company, although the income-tax authorities remain free to examine the tax consequences of the plan, including carry-forward of losses and credits. Fresh share issues, capital reduction and increases in authorised capital are subject to filings with the Registrar of Companies, with the Registrar asked to waive additional fees, and statutory appointments must be completed within 12 months.

The moratorium under Section 14 ended on the date of the order. A monitoring committee of one creditor representative, one Fastway representative and the resolution professional as chairman has to be formed within 15 days, which puts the deadline at around 18 November 2026. The first payout of ₹194.58 crore to secured financial creditors falls due within 60 days of approval, that is by early January 2027, with the ₹29 crore balance due within 14 months. Avoidance applications that have not attained finality abate, and pursuing them is left to the company or the new owner. The applicant must file implementation status reports, preferably every quarter, and forward the CIRP records and the order to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India.

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