Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta Ltd has moved the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) against the approval of Adani Enterprises Ltd. ₹Bid of Rs 14,543 crore for bankrupt Jaiprakash Associates Limited
According to the cause list of the appellate tribunal, Vedanta has appealed against the March 17 order of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approving the Gautam Adani-led company’s plan and rejecting the mining company’s challenge.
The case is likely to be heard on Monday by a bench led by NCLAT Chairman Justice Ashok Bhushan.
Vedanta had earlier termed the approval as a “commercial conspiracy” and sought reconsideration of its bid.
At the heart of the dispute is how the value should be assessed under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). Vedanta argued that the lenders had violated the principle of maximum value through a fair process. It said it has emerged as the highest bidder with the proposal ₹12,505.85 crore on Net Present Value (NPV) basis.
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Despite this, lenders approved a rival plan which, according to Vedanta, was almost as low. ₹Total value Rs 3,400 crore and ₹500 crores in NPV. The company also alleged procedural unfairness and said it was not given reason or opportunity to explain its proposal.
Vedanta further pointed to an improved offer submitted on November 8, 2025, increasing the cash upfront to approximately ₹6,563 crore more equity investment ₹800 crores. It was argued that this would lead to better recovery and should have been considered.
The Committee of Creditors (CoC) defended its decision, saying the process complied with all IBC rules. He said no bidder has a guaranteed right to win, even if he offers the highest price.
He said the schemes were evaluated on multiple factors, including cash upfront, feasibility and execution, not just principal value. Adani’s bid was given priority as it had offered around ₹Upfront and faster payment of Rs 6,000 crore within two years, compared to Vedanta’s longer payment timeline of up to five years.
The lenders also rejected Vedanta’s revised offer saying it was submitted after the bid closure and accepting it would require restarting the process. He said all bidders were given a level playing field and multiple chances to improve their bids.
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Queries sent to Vedanta and Adani Group remained unanswered till press time.
According to lawyers, the challenge by Vedanta and dissenting creditors in NCLAT is more a statutory stress test of the Adani-JAL resolution than a re-evaluation of the deal. He says tribunals generally go by the commercial wisdom of the CoC, which is in line with Supreme Court decisions that uphold the primacy of lenders’ decisions.
“NCLAT does not act as a super-CoC to compare bids. Its role is limited to checking whether the process adheres to the IBC,” said Ankita Singh, founder of law firm Sarvank Associates.
The NCLT, in its March 17 order, upheld the lenders’ decision, saying the commercial wisdom of the CoC is final and cannot be interfered with unless there is a clear legal violation. The tribunal found the process fair and compliant, and said Vedanta had no right to be selected only as the highest bidder.
It also held that Vedanta’s revised proposal was invalid because it was submitted after the deadline, and concluded that there was no legal flaw in the process.