Piramal Finances takeover of DHFL remains one of the most controversial resolutions under Indias insolvency system. One of the biggest red flags: the CoC and the RBI-appointed Administrator virtually ignored Section 66 of the IBC, which exists to recover assets lost through fraudulent or wrongful trading. Analyses estimated ₹;45, 000 crore worth of such recoverable transactions yet, under the Piramal plan, these were shockingly valued at Re 1, effectively handing any future recoveries to the acquirer(then PCHFL, now Piramal Finance Ltd.), not to the small depositors who suffered the collapse.
This treatment was so questionable that the NCLAT(27 January 2022) itself flagged the issue in the 63 Moons case, noting several discrepancies, material irregularities, illegalities in the CoC-led resolution process and Piramals resolution plan.
For lakhs of DHFL victims, the outcome feels less like resolution and more like corporate capture, aided by political proximity to the BJP. Critics point to the PiramalAmbani family link and the groups well-documented closeness to the ruling establishment to explain how ₹;45k crore in potential recoveries were effectively neutralised, while small depositors were forced into massive haircuts.
Bottom line: Piramal Finance gained a nationwide housing-finance giant at a bargain, while small depositors lost both their money and their legal rights under Section 66. A resolution meant to deliver justice instead delivered precedent-setting inequity.