Mumbai: Ananda Krishnan-led Aircel has filed for bankruptcy, citing "troubled times" in a "highly financially stressed" industry.

Aircel and two other entities - Aircel Cellular and Dishnet Wireless - on Wednesday filed an application under Section 10 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), 2016 at the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Mumbai.

The fate of the company will be known in nine months (270 days). If no resolution is possible, the assets of the company will be sold off.

Aircel has debts of Rs 15,500 crore and has 85 million subscribers, according to Trai data for December 2017. Close to 74 per cent of Aircel is held by Maxis Communications, while the remaining 26 per cent is with Sindya Securities & Investments.

Like other incumbents, Aircel has been a victim of intense competition in telecom, which only intensified with the arrival of Jio, whose cheap tariffs affected the bottom line of operators.

Besides, an attempt to merge the company's wireless operations with Reliance Communications failed because of legal and regulatory uncertainties. Recent reports further said its Malaysian promoter has decided against infusing fresh funds.

"The board of directors of the corporate debtor today announced that they have filed an application under Section 10 of the IBC 2016 for undertaking Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process for the respective companies: Aircel Cellular, Dishnet Wireless, Aircel Ltd," a statement said.

The statement said intense competition following the disruptive entry of a new player, legal and regulatory challenges, high level of unsustainable debt and increased losses had together caused significant "negative business and reputational impact" on the company. It also noted the efforts to merge the wireless business with another operator did not yield any results.

"Post detailed discussions with the financial lenders and shareholders, the company could not reach consensus with respect to restructuring of its debt and funding. Despite invoking a strategic debt restructuring scheme in January 2018...no agreement could be reached," Aircel said.

According to Section 10 of the IBC, if a corporate debtor has committed a default, it can file an application to start a corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP).

The applicant will have to furnish information relating to its accounts and a person is appointed as an interim resolution professional. While the adjudicating authority has 14 days to accept the application, the CIRP will start from the date of admission of the application. A resolution has to be completed within a period of 180 days from the date of admission of the application.