Vedanta could not get any relief even from the Supreme Court on its plea challenging Adani’s resolution plan for Jaiprakash Associates.
The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed Vedanta’s plea to put a stay on the implementation of Adani Enterprises’ Rs 14,543 crore resolution plan for Jaiprakash Associates.
An apex court bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi refused to interfere with orders of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT).
Both the tribunals had cleared the way for the implementation of the insolvency plan.
Vedanta had approached the Supreme Court asking for a stay on the NCLAT order that allowed the implementation of Adani Group’s resolution plan.
The appeal was filed on March 25, a day after the NCLAT declined to grant interim relief to Vedanta.
The Supreme Court has, however, asked the committee overseeing the resolution to seek prior approval of NCLAT before taking any major policy decisions.
It has asked the appellate tribunal to prioritise the matter.
The court has directed Vedanta Ltd and Adani Enterprises to present their arguments before the NCLAT, which is set to hear the case on April 10.
Vedanta was one of the bidders for Jaiprakash Associates in the insolvency process. However, it was Adani Enterprises’ resolution plan that was approved by the lenders in November last year.
The NCLT had also approved the plan. Mining major Vedanta had later filed two separate petitions before the NCLAT. While one petition questioned the validity of the resolution plan, the other contested its approval by the Committee of Creditors and the NCLT.
Vedanta had argued in the court that it was offering a better deal at Rs 17,926 crore compared to Rs 17,543 crore of Adani Enterprises.
However, the Committee of Creditors countered that Adani’s offering was just Rs 500 crore short of Vedanta’s and the former offer fared better on merits, particularly in terms of faster upfront payments.
