Supreme Court refuses to stay Adani’s resolution plan for JAL

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to stay the implementation of Adani Enterprises’ resolution plan for Jaiprakash Associates Limited (JAL), instead directing the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) to hear Vedanta’s appeal on April 10. [Vedanta Ltd v. Bhuvan Madan, RP of Jaiprakash Associates]..A Bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi declined to interfere with the NCLAT’s interim order allowing the implementation of the resolution plan, noting that the appellate tribunal is already seized of the matter and is scheduled to hear Vedanta’s appeal on April 10..The Court, however, introduced a safeguard by observing that if the monitoring committee or those implementing the plan propose to take any major policy decision, they must seek prior leave of the NCLAT..During the hearing, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Vedanta, contended that the implementation of the plan would lead to irreversible consequences, including disbursement of funds to thousands of creditors and changes to the corporate structure, rendering its appeal infructuous. It argued that its bid offered higher value and that the process suffered from a lack of transparency..Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Committee of Creditors (CoC), submitted that the difference between the competing bids was limited and that the resolution process was conducted in accordance with the prescribed framework. He also argued that implementation would take time and that the NCLAT had already protected parties by making the process subject to the outcome of the appeal..Vedanta has approached the Supreme Court challenging the implementation of Adani Enterprises’ resolution plan for JAL. The plea challenged the NCLAT's March 24 order refusing to grant an interim stay on the plan. The appellate tribunal had stated that the issues raised require detailed consideration and that implementation of the plan would remain subject to the outcome of the appeal.The insolvency of Jaiprakash Associates traces back to June 3, 2024, when the Allahabad Bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) admitted the company into insolvency on a petition filed by ICICI Bank. The company had admitted claims exceeding ₹57,000 crore. The CoC, comprising 27 members including financial institutions and homebuyers, was dominated by the National Asset Reconstruction Company Limited (NARCL), which held over 85 per cent voting share..The resolution process saw significant interest, with 28 expressions of interest received and 25 applicants shortlisted. Ultimately, 6 bidders submitted resolution plans - Adani Enterprises, Vedanta, Dalmia Cement (Bharat), Jindal Power, PNC Infratech and Jaypee Infratech. Adani Enterprises and Vedanta emerged as the leading contenders.Following evaluation, Adani’s plan was ranked higher, particularly on parameters such as upfront recovery and overall financial value. The CoC approved Adani’s resolution plan with a 93.81 per cent voting share. The NCLT subsequently approved the plan on March 17, 2026.Vedanta contends that it was initially declared the highest bidder in a transparent challenge process, but that the final outcome was altered. The company has also questioned the rejection of its revised bid and alleged that the process lacked transparency and failed to maximise value for creditors..A key point of dispute concerns an addendum submitted by Vedanta on November 8, 2025, after the conclusion of the challenge process. The addendum sought to enhance the financial terms of its proposal. However, the CoC declined to consider it, citing the bidding framework which prohibited post-process modifications. The CoC maintained that allowing such revisions after the process concluded would compromise the integrity of the resolution framework, especially since Vedanta submitted the addendum after becoming aware that its upfront offer was lower than that of Adani..Adani was represented by Senior Advocates Mukul Rohatgi and Ritin Rai with a team from Karanjawala & Co. comprising Advocates Sandeep Singhi, Ruby S Ahuja, Seema Sundd, Rituraj Srivastava, Ravneet Kaur Malik, and Shruti Pandey. Abhishek Swaroop (Partner), Saraf & Partners also appeared in the case. .The resolution professional was represented by Senior Advocates Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Arun Kathpalia with a team from Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas (SAM) comprising Advocates Anoop Rawat, Advocate, Sagar Dhawan, Vaijayant Paliwal, Aditya Marwah, Nikhil Mathur, Ahkam Khan, Rashi Sharma and Kirti Gupta..Senior Advocates VV Giri and Abhijeet Sinha also appeared for Vedanta along with Advocate Deep Roy..The CoC of Jaiprakash Associates Ltd. was also represented by Senior Advocate Niranjan Reddy along with Advocate Biswajeet Dubey..Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.