Adani’s ₹14,500 Cr JAL Takeover: SC Refuses Stay, Sets NCLAT Deadline

The Supreme Court of India on Monday declined to interfere with an order of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) that had refused to stay the Adani Group’s ₹14,535 crore bid to acquire Jaiprakash Associates Ltd (JAL), allowing the insolvency process to move ahead, PTI reported.

However, the court imposed an important safeguard by directing JAL’s monitoring committee not to take any major policy decisions without prior approval from the NCLAT.

A bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi also asked Vedanta Ltd and Adani Enterprises Ltd to present their arguments and counterclaims before the appellate tribunal, which is scheduled to begin final hearings on April 10.

The court urged the NCLAT to dispose of the matter expeditiously, indicating that the dispute over JAL’s takeover should now be resolved at the tribunal level.

What is the Case About?

The case stems from Vedanta’s challenge to the approval of Adani Enterprises’ resolution plan. Vedanta approached the Supreme Court after the NCLAT, on March 24, refused to grant interim relief and declined to halt implementation of the plan.

The appellate tribunal had also directed JAL’s Committee of Creditors (CoC) to file its response within a week and listed the matter for further hearing on April 10.

Adani Enterprises’ resolution plan was approved by JAL’s lenders in November last year and later cleared by the National Company Law Tribunal. Vedanta, which was also a bidder in the insolvency process, has filed two separate appeals before the NCLAT: one challenging the validity of the resolution plan and another contesting the approvals granted by the CoC and the NCLT.

The Supreme Court’s order leaves Adani’s bid intact for now, but the final outcome will depend on how the NCLAT adjudicates the competing claims.

The dispute escalated after Vedanta failed to secure a stay from the NCLAT and moved the Supreme Court on March 25. Billionaire Anil Agarwal publicly claimed that the bidding process had been “transparent” and that Vedanta had been declared the highest bidder during the insolvency proceedings, adding that the outcome was later changed.

How the Dispute Started?

Jaiprakash Associates, which was admitted for insolvency in June 2024 after defaulting on loans of more than ₹57,000 crore, attracted competing bids from Vedanta and the Adani Group.

Vedanta had offered ₹16,726 crore, which was higher than Adani Enterprises’ ₹14,535 crore bid. However, the Committee of Creditors ultimately backed Adani’s proposal, saying it offered about ₹6,000 crore upfront along with a faster repayment timeline of two years, compared with Vedanta’s payout horizon of up to five years.

Lenders have maintained that the process fully complied with the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, stressing that the highest bid is not the only criterion and that factors such as execution feasibility, upfront cash recovery and repayment certainty are equally important.

They also rejected Vedanta’s revised offer, saying it was submitted after the bidding window had closed and that accepting it would have required restarting the entire process.