The Supreme Court on Monday refused to interfere with the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal’s (NCLAT) order allowing Adani Group’s Rs 14,535 crore bid to acquire Jaiprakash Associates Ltd (JAL) to proceed, while directing the appellate tribunal to expedite hearings in the matter, PTI reported
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi said all parties, including Vedanta and Adani Enterprises, should raise their claims and counterclaims before the NCLAT, which is scheduled to begin final hearings on 10 April.
No major policy decision to be taken
However, the court placed a restriction on JAL’s monitoring committee, directing it not to take any major policy decisions without prior approval from the NCLAT. The development comes after Vedanta approached the Supreme Court seeking a stay on the insolvency proceedings and implementation of Adani Group’s resolution plan, PTI reported.
According to PTI, Vedanta had moved the apex court on 25 March, a day after the NCLAT declined to grant an interim stay on the deal. The appellate tribunal had on 24 March refused to halt the implementation of the resolution plan approved by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).
Next hearing on April 10
The NCLAT had also sought responses from JAL’s committee of creditors (CoC) and listed the matter for further hearing on 10 April. Vedanta was among the contenders to acquire JAL under the insolvency process. However, lenders approved Adani Enterprises’ resolution plan in November last year, which was subsequently cleared by the NCLT.
Vedanta has challenged both the validity of the resolution plan and its approval by the CoC and NCLT through separate appeals before the NCLAT, the PTI report said.
Vedanta, represented by senior advocate Kapil Sibal, argued that its Rs 17,926 crore offer was significantly higher than Adani Enterprises’ bid of around Rs 14,000 crore and would have yielded greater value for creditors in both total consideration and net present value terms, according to a report by LiveLaw.
The report further mentioned that Sibal contended that the Committee of Creditors (CoC) had overlooked this value differential and proceeded with a lower bid. He also flagged concerns that the implementation of the resolution plan could lead to the delisting of Jaiprakash Associates, LiveLaw report said.
However, the bench refrained from examining these merits, stating that such issues are best adjudicated by the NCLAT, where the appeal is currently pending.