Vedanta Ltd has moved the Supreme Court challenging a decision of bankruptcy tribunals and lenders that rejected the mining giant’s bid for insolvent Jaiprakash Associate Ltd (JAL) in favour of Adani Enterprise Ltd.
In the petition, the company pleaded with the apex court to pass an ex parte ad interim order staying the operation, implementation and effect of the order passed by the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT).
Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta contended before the SC that its addendum bid is about ₹3,400 crore higher in gross value terms and roughly ₹500 crore more in net present value compared with the Adani offer.
In the bid challenge process and final resolution plan submitted on October 14, 2025, Vedanta offered ₹3,770 crore in upfront payment and ₹3,100 crore at the end of the 365th day from the effective date to secured financial creditors. It also offered an equity infusion of ₹400 crore into Jaypee.
Thereafter, on November 8, 2025, Vedanta submitted an addendum via email, offering to raise the upfront cash payout to ₹6,563 crore and equity infusion to ₹800 crore while keeping the bid value at ₹12,505.85 crore.
The committee of creditors of JAL accepted Adani’s bid because it offered around ₹6,000 crore upfront cash payment and faster payments for the remaining amount within two years, compared with Vedanta’s longer payment timeline of up to five years.
According to sources, Vedanta, in its petition before the apex court, alleged that lenders acted “arbitrarily” while rejecting its bid to acquire JAL and also questioned the role of the resolution professional in the ongoing insolvency process.
Vedanta Ltd also mentioned that the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) erred in appreciating that the commercial wisdom of lenders is not ‘absolute’ and therefore, can be set aside in cases of ‘arbitrariness, perverseness or capricious exercise’ of power.
On Sunday, Anil Agarwal said Vedanta was informed in writing that it had won the bid for JAL but the decision was changed later. He said Vedanta would place the facts the ‘right way’. Vedanta moved the appellate tribunal NCLAT, which declined to stay the implementation of Adani’s bid. This forced Vedanta to approach the apex court.
In November last year, the CoC of JAL, which entered insolvency in June 2024, approved Adani’s ₹14,535 crore resolution plan to acquire the debt-ridden Jaypee group’s flagship firm. This firm has operations in many sectors, including cement, hospitality, power and real estate.