Vedanta moves Supreme Court over proposed takeover of Jaiprakash Associates Ltd by Adani Enterprise

New Delhi: Mining mogul Anil Agarwal's Vedanta Ltd has approached the Supreme Court for a stay on the proposed take over of Jaiprakash Associates Ltd by Gautam Adani's Adani Enterprise Ltd allegedly in violation of the insolvency resolution process.

The plea questioned the validity of the March 24, 2026 order by the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal which declined to grant stay on the resolution plan, even after admitting Vedanta's challenge for consideration.

It contended that the current resolution plan fails to fulfill the core objective of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, maximization of the value of the corporate debtor’s assets. Claiming that the insolvency process lacked transparency, it also alleged that the process followed by the JAL’s committee of creditors in approving the AEL’s plan was “unfair, opaque, and inequitable.”

The plea contended Vedanta was the highest bidder for JAL all through, but the lenders had rejected its plan by taking recourse to and incorrect criteria for evaluation of resolution plans. It submitted that the matter required consideration as the insolvency process ran contrary to the objective of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.

It was stated that the lenders had previously approved the resolution plan put forth by AEL and rejected bids of various companies, including Dalmia Bharat and Jindal Power.

The Committee of Creditors had approved the AEL’s plan with a 93.81% voting share and the Allahabad bench of the National Company Law Tribunal approved its resolution plan on March 17.

It was also contended that AEL offered to pay Rs 14,535 crore, Vedanta, for its part, made an initial bid of Rs 17,000 crore, of which the upfront cash component was about Rs 4,000 crore and the rest payable over six years.

Subsequently, Vedanta revised its bid, offering a total of Rs 16,726 crore of which Rs 6,563 crore was to be paid upfront while rest payable in five years.

As per facts of the matter, the NCLT had in 2024 admitted ICICI Bank's insolvency petition against JAL for a debt of Rs 1,269 crore, which was upheld by the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal.

JAL has a significant land bank of nearly 4,000 acre across Uttar Pradesh, particularly in Noida, Greater Noida, and the Yamuna Expressway, besides the premier projects like Jaypee International Sports City near the Noida International Airport. The company in debt also owned hotels and cement plants.