Top bidder for JAL was never disclosed: Resolution professional on Vedanta’s claim
Mumbai: Infrastructure company Jaiprakash Associates Ltd (JAL)’s resolution expert told the appellate court on Friday that it had no basis to conclude that mining company Vedanta Ltd was the highest bidder for JAL’s assets as details of the highest bidder were never disclosed during the insolvency resolution process.
The Ashok Bhushan-led National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) Delhi bench was hearing Vedanta’s plea challenging Adani Enterprises as the highest bidder in the JAL bankruptcy case.
Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing resolution professionals, said, “One of the biggest methods of drawing attention to some big sensational issues is to suggest that we (resolution professionals) declare Mr. (Abhijeet) Sinha’s client (Vedanta) as the best, highest or most suitable and then suddenly change it. The basic premise of this presentation… is as if I had declared you as the highest and then changed it. If so, it would not be fair and would be completely unfounded.” facts.”
Vedanta had previously appealed to the appeals court about ₹17,000 crore, i.e. approx. ₹12,505 crore on an NPV basis and argued that it offers better value.
Adani’s solution plan has been fixed ₹14,543 crore, includes additional ₹800 crore towards capital expenditure and working capital, taking the total to approx. ₹15,343 crore. Against the allegations made against him ₹60,637 crore, which represents an improvement of around 24%.
In previous hearings, lenders defended their decisions by arguing that resolution plans were evaluated not just on headline value, or NPV, but on multiple parameters, including cash upfront, feasibility, applicability and implementation timelines.
Vedanta’s legal counsel Sinha described these allegations as ‘baseless’ and said that “they did not hide any documents and submitted everything to the court.”
The fight between mining firms for JAL comes in the wake of a bidding war for nearly 4,000 acres of land in Noida, Greater Noida and the Yamuna Expressway, along with hotels, commercial assets, cement capacity and a Formula 1 race track.
The next hearing is scheduled for April 20, when the committee of creditors (CoC), represented by attorney general Tushar Mehta, is expected to respond.
JAL goes bankrupt in 2024 and owes more than 2020 ₹50,000 crore as debt to creditors.
The resolution plan was approved by the Allahabad bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on March 17, following which Vedanta moved the NCLAT and the Supreme Court in an attempt to stop it.
On April 6, a Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi had refused to interfere with the orders of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and NCLAT, paving the way for the implementation of the scheme. However, the court directed the committee overseeing the decision to seek NCLAT approval before taking any major step.
