New Delhi: The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Monday dismissed two petitions filed by Vedanta Limited. In these petitions, the company had challenged the selection of Adani Enterprises Limited’s bid for the debt-ridden Jaiprakash Associates Limited.
A two-member bench comprising Justice Ashok Bhushan and Technical Member Barun Mitra observed, “No grounds have been made out by the appellant (Vedanta) to warrant interference with the decision of the Adjudicating Authority (NCLT).”
The bench stated, “The appeal lacks merit. Both appeals are dismissed. No further orders are required to be passed.”
The Appellate Tribunal noted that the decision of the Committee of Creditors (CoC) was based on an “overall evaluation of various resolution plans” and their commercial wisdom.
The NCLAT also observed that no “material irregularity” was committed by the Resolution Professional during the resolution process.
Questioning the evaluation criteria, Vedanta had argued that its bid was higher by Rs 3,400 crore in terms of gross value and approximately Rs 500 crore on a Net Present Value (NPV) basis.
Dismissing this contention, the NCLAT held that the CoC’s decision not to approve a higher-value plan could not be termed “arbitrary or unreasonable.”
Earlier, on March 24, the NCLAT had refused to grant an interim stay on a petition filed by the Vedanta Group, which challenged the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT)’s order dated March 17. However, the NCLAT had stated that the final outcome would be subject to the result of the appeal.
On March 17, the Allahabad Bench of the National Company Law Tribunal had approved the Rs 14,535 crore bid submitted by Adani Enterprises Limited for the acquisition of Jaiprakash Associates Limited—a decision that Vedanta subsequently challenged before the NCLAT. Vedanta had challenged this order in the Supreme Court as well, but the apex court refused to grant a stay. However, the Supreme Court directed that JAL’s Monitoring Committee must seek the Tribunal’s permission before taking any major policy decisions.
Adani Enterprises emerged victorious in the bidding process for JAL, outperforming Vedanta Limited and Dalmia Bharat. Adani Enterprises secured the highest share of votes from the creditors—89 percent.
The NCLAT concluded its hearings on April 23, after listening to arguments from all parties involved, including Vedanta, the Resolution Professional, the CoC, and Adani Enterprises Limited.
Notably, JAL—the flagship company of the JP Group—was admitted into the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process in June 2024, following a default on debt repayments amounting to ₹57,185 crore.
JAL possesses key real estate projects, such as ‘JP Greens’ in Greater Noida. It operates four cement plants across Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, as well as several leased limestone mines in Madhya Pradesh.
Furthermore, the company has made investments in various subsidiaries, including Jaiprakash Power Ventures Limited, Yamuna Expressway Tolling Limited, JP Infrastructure Development Limited, and several others.
