SC refuses interim relief to Vedanta in the Jaiprakash Associates resolution plan matter

The Supreme Court of India on Monday declined to stay proceedings in a plea filed by Vedanta Limited challenging the approval of AdGroup's resolution plan for the takeover of insolvent Jaiprakash Associates Limited.

A Bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant observed that since the appeal is likely to be decided shortly by the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), and Vedanta's interests have been adequately safeguarded through interim measures, there was no necessity to grant any interim relief.

"The appeal is likely to be addressed soon, and we see no legal necessity to issue any interim direction," the Court noted, while requesting the NCLAT to hear the matter on an out-of-turn basis on the scheduled date or immediately thereafter if arguments remain incomplete.

The NCLAT is scheduled to hear Vedanta petition on Friday 10th April.

Vedanta, in its petition, has challenged the decision of the Committee of Creditors (CoC) to accept Adani Group's resolution plan. It contended that its revised addendum bid offers over Rs 3,400 crore higher gross value compared to Adani's proposal.

Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal appeared for Vedanta, while Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi represented Adani Group. Tushar Mehta appeared on behalf of the lenders' consortium (CoC) at the apex court.

During the hearing, Vedanta submitted that it proposed to pay Rs 17,926 crore to creditors, as against Rs 14,535 crore under Adani's plan. It argued that the CoC was effectively accepting a resolution plan that was around Rs 3,000 crore lower in value. However, the CoC countered that the practical difference between the two bids would amount to only about Rs 500 crore.

The Court recorded submissions that the matter is listed before the NCLAT this week, and implementation of the resolution plan would take approximately 50 days, with little likely to change in the interim period of a few days.

Observing that the NCLAT interim order had already addressed Vedanta's concerns, the Supreme Court stated it would not halt the process at this stage. It added that any policy decision taken by the resolution professional or monitoring committee during this period must be in accordance with law and subject to NCLAT's approval.

The apex court further noted that the resolution process remains subject to approval by the adjudicating authority, and emphasised that if any action outside the legal framework is undertaken, appropriate recourse would be available.

Both sides agreed before the apex court for an expeditious hearing before the NCLAT.
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