The Supreme Court refused to pause Adani Enterprises’ resolution plan for Jaiprakash Associates Limited and asked NCLAT to hear Vedanta’s appeal on April 10. The Court said the appellate tribunal should decide the matter without delay after hearing all parties.
The Supreme Court declined to stay the implementation of Adani Enterprises’ resolution plan for Jaiprakash Associates Limited (JAL), directing instead that the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) hear Vedanta’s appeal on April 10.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi refused to interfere with the NCLAT’s interim order permitting the plan’s implementation, noting that the appellate tribunal is already seized of the matter and has scheduled Vedanta’s appeal for April 10.
The Court added a safeguard, observing that,
“If the monitoring committee or those implementing the plan propose to take any major policy decision, they must seek prior leave of the NCLAT.”
During the hearing, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, for Vedanta, argued that implementing the plan would produce irreversible effects such as disbursing funds to thousands of creditors and altering corporate structures that could render Vedanta’s appeal meaningless.
He also maintained that Vedanta’s bid provided higher value and criticized the process for lacking transparency.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Committee of Creditors (CoC), countered that the gap between the competing bids was narrow and that the resolution process followed the mandated framework.
He noted implementation would take time and pointed out that the NCLAT had previously safeguarded parties by keeping the process subject to the appeal’s outcome.
Vedanta has sought Supreme Court intervention to challenge the implementation of Adani’s plan for JAL, opposing the NCLAT’s March 24 decision not to stay the plan.
The appellate tribunal had indicated the issues required comprehensive consideration and reiterated that implementation would remain subject to the appeal’s final result.
Jaiprakash Associates was admitted into insolvency on June 3, 2024, when the Allahabad Bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) accepted a petition from ICICI Bank.
The company acknowledged claims exceeding Rs.57,000 crore. The CoC, with 27 members including financial institutions and homebuyers, was largely controlled by the National Asset Reconstruction Company Limited (NARCL), which held over an 85% voting stake.
The resolution attracted substantial interest: 28 expressions of interest were received, 25 applicants were shortlisted, and six bidders Adani Enterprises, Vedanta, Dalmia Cement (Bharat), Jindal Power, PNC Infratech and Jaypee Infratech submitted plans. Adani and Vedanta emerged as the front-runners.
Adani’s proposal was ultimately ranked higher, particularly on measures such as upfront recovery and overall financial value, and the CoC approved Adani’s resolution plan with a 93.81% voting share. The NCLT gave its approval on March 17, 2026.
Vedanta maintains it had initially been declared the highest bidder through a transparent challenge process but that the final decision subsequently changed. It also disputes the rejection of its revised bid and alleges the process did not maximise value for creditors and lacked transparency.
A focal dispute involves an addendum Vedanta submitted on November 8, 2025, after the challenge process concluded, which sought to enhance its financial offer.
The CoC refused to entertain the addendum, pointing to bidding rules that bar post-process alterations. The CoC argued that allowing revisions after the process would undermine the resolution framework’s integrity, particularly since Vedanta filed the addendum only after learning its upfront offer was lower than Adani’s.
Adani was represented by Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, while the resolution professional was represented by Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi.
Case Title: Vedanta Ltd v. Bhuvan Madan, RP of Jaiprakash Associates
FOLLOW US FOR MORE LEGAL UPDATES ON YOUTUBE
