The Supreme Court on Monday refused to interfere with a National Company Law Appellate Tribunal order declining to stay the proposed takeover of the now-insolvent Jaypee group’s assets by Gautam Adani’s Adani Enterprises, PTI reported.

On March 25, mining group Vedanta Limited moved the top court seeking a stay on the proposed bid.

On Monday, a bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi asked the NCLAT to decide on the matter expeditiously.

The petition by Vedanta was filed a day after the NCLAT declined to grant an interim stay on the National Company Law Tribunal’s approval of Adani Enterprises’ resolution plan.

The National Company Law Tribunal is the first-level quasi-judicial body established under the 2013 Companies Act to adjudicate corporate disputes and insolvency cases, while the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal is the higher authority that reviews appeals against these orders.

The dispute revolves around the approval granted to the Adani bid by the Committee of Creditors, which is a decision-making body in the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process formed under the 2016 Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.

The bid was subsequently cleared by the National Company Law Tribunal.

Vedanta, led by industrialist Anil Agarwal, has argued that its offer for Jaiprakash Associates Limited was higher. It has also questioned the fairness and transparency of the bidding process.

During the hearing on Monday, the Supreme Court restrained the monitoring committee of Jaiprakash Associates Limited from taking any major policy decision without approval from the NCLAT, PTI reported.

The bench also asked Vedanta and Adani Enterprises to raise contentions and counterclaims before the NCLAT, which will commence final hearing on the row on April 10.

The dispute

The dispute centres on the debt resolution process of Jaiprakash Associates Limited, which was declared insolvent in June 2024 after defaulting on loans exceeding Rs 57,000 crore, The Economic Times reported.

Competing bids were submitted by Vedanta and Adani Enterprises. Vedanta offered Rs 16,726 crore, higher than Adani Enterprises’ Rs 14,535 crore, The Economic Times quoted submissions before the appellate tribunal as having said.

However, the Committee of Creditors approved Adani’s plan, which proposed about Rs 6,000 crore upfront and a faster repayment timeline of around two years, compared to Vedanta’s payout period of up to five years, the news outlet reported.

Moneycontrol reported that Vedanta’s initial bid was Rs 17,000 crore, including roughly Rs 4,000 crore in upfront cash, with the remaining amount payable over six years.

On March 29, Agrawal on social media said that his company was declared the highest bidder during the insolvency proceedings and was informed in writing that it had won, before the outcome was changed.

He added that Vedanta had “no attachment” to the asset and would place the facts through due process.

However, creditors have maintained that under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, bids are not assessed on value alone but also on factors such as “upfront cash, execution feasibility, and payment timelines”, The Economic Times reported.

They also reportedly rejected Vedanta’s revised offer, saying that it was submitted after the bidding deadline and could not be considered without restarting the process.

Jaiprakash Associates Limited holds a significant portfolio, including real estate developments in Uttar Pradesh’s Noida and Greater Noida, infrastructure assets, cement capacity and projects such as Jaypee Greens and the Jaypee International Sports City near the Jewar airport, The Economic Times reported.