The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Tuesday refused to stay implementation of billionaire Gautam Adani-led Adani Enterprises Ltd’s ₹14,543-crore resolution plan for bankrupt Jaiprakash Associates Ltd (JAL), and declined to halt the company’s delisting, allowing the process to move ahead while it hears Vedanta Ltd’s challenge.
An NCLAT bench led by chairperson Justice Ashok Bhushan declined to grant an interim stay on Vedanta’s plea, but agreed to hear the matter and sought responses from the Committee of Creditors (CoC) within a week. NCLAT also declined Vedanta’s request to halt the firm’s delisting, citing the CoC’s view that if the resolution plan is later overturned, all related actions, including delisting, would be reversed. The next hearing is on 9 April.
“CoC submits in event delisting takes place of the corporate debtor as per approved resolution plan under impugned order and if impugned order is set aside by this tribunal, there shall be automatic cancellation of all delisting actions,” it added. “In the meantime, in pursuance of the impugned order, implementation of the resolution plan shall go on, however, it shall abide by the result of the appeal,” NCLAT added.
“The matter is sub judice and hence we cannot comment,” a Vedanta spokesperson said in response to Mint’s query. Queries to Adani Group remained unanswered.
Vedanta challenge
Vedanta, led by Anil Agarwal, has challenged the Allahabad bench of National Company Law Tribunal’s (NCLT) 17 March order approving Adani Enterprises’ plan and rejecting the mining company’s objections. It had earlier termed the approval a “commercial conspiracy” and sought reconsideration of its own bid.
The dispute centres on how value must be assessed under Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). Vedanta says lenders did not maximise value via a fair process, arguing it’s the highest bidder with a ₹12,505.85 crore bid in net present value.
However, lenders cleared the plan by Adani, which Vedanta says was lower by about ₹3,400 crore in total value and ₹500 crore in NPV. It also alleged procedural unfairness, saying it was neither given reasons nor opportunity to clarify its proposal.
Vedanta further highlighted an improved offer submitted on 8 November, increasing upfront cash to about ₹6,563 crore and equity infusion to ₹800 crore, which it said should have been considered.
The CoC, however, defended its decision, saying the process complied with IBC rules and that no bidder has a guaranteed right to win, even if it offers the highest value.
Lenders said resolution plans were evaluated on multiple factors, including upfront cash, feasibility and execution capability, not just headline value. Adani’s plan was preferred as it offered around ₹6,000 crore upfront and faster payments within two years, compared with Vedanta’s payout timeline of up to five years.
They had also rejected Vedanta’s revised offer, saying it came after the bidding had closed and accepting it would have required restarting the process. According to lenders, all bidders were given equal opportunity and many chances to improve their offers.
In its 17 March order, the NCLT upheld the lenders’ decision, reiterating that the CoC’s commercial wisdom is final and cannot be interfered with unless there is a clear legal violation. It found the process fair and compliant, and ruled that Vedanta had no right to be selected merely for being the highest bidder.
Adani’s plan secured about 93.8% of the voting share from financial creditors, well above the required threshold. National Asset Reconstruction Co. Ltd (NARCL), the largest creditor, played a key role in backing the plan.
Under the resolution plan, Adani Enterprises’ bid stands at about ₹14,543 crore. Including ₹800 crore earmarked for capex and working capital, the total plan value is around ₹15,343 crore. Against admitted claims of about ₹60,637 crore, this implies a recovery of roughly 24%.
Separately, Velocity Enterprises, a Bhopal-based contractor, has also approached the NCLAT after the NCLT rejected its claim of over ₹1 crore related to contractual work on 17 March.
