Vedanta loses another case challenging Adani’s bid for Jaypee’s assets:Going to SC only option left for mining tycoon Anil Agarwal

A company law appeals court on Monday, 4 May, 2026, rejected a challenge by mining billionaire Anil Agarwal’s Vedanta Ltd to the winning bid by Gautam Adani’s group for bankrupt real estate firm Jaiprakash Associates Ltd (JAL), whose assets include India’s only Formula One circuit, said news agency, PTI. The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) did not find merit in the issues raised by Vedanta and dismissed its two petitions. A Bench comprising Chairperson Justice (retired) Ashok Bhushan and Technical Member Barun Mitra held that the Committee of Creditors (CoC) were right in preferring Adani Group’s ₹14,535 crore bid over Vedanta’s resolution plan for JAL. That decision was approved by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), against which Vedanta went into an appeal in NCLAT. No grounds have been made out by the appellant (Vedanta) to interfere with the decision of the adjudicating Authority (NCLT). There is no merit in the appeal. Both appeals are dismissed. There shall be no orders to pass. -NCLAT order NCLAT said the decision of the Committee of Creditors was based on “overall consideration of the respective resolution plan and was taken in its commercial wisdom,” said the appellate tribunal. Bankrupt Jaypee JAL was admitted for insolvency proceedings in June 2024 after it failed to pay bank dues exceeding ₹57,000 crore. Background: The resolution process drew 28 expressions of interest, with six final bidders including Vedanta, Adani Enterprises and others. Adani and Vedanta emerged as frontrunners, with Adani’s proposal scoring higher on upfront recovery and overall value. Banks say Vedanta put forward higher bid only after deadline The CoC approved Adani’s plan in November 2025 with a 93.81% vote. Vedanta later submitted a revised offer, valued at ₹16,070 crore, but creditors declined to consider it, citing rules barring post-deadline changes. Why banks preferred Adani? The resolution process drew 28 expressions of interest, with six final bidders including Vedanta, Adani Enterprises and others. Adani and Vedanta emerged as frontrunners, with Adani s proposal scoring higher on upfront recovery and overall value. Vedanta argued the process lacked transparency and that its revised bid offered superior value. Creditors countered that the revised proposal was submitted only after Vedanta became aware it was trailing the winning bid. Monday’s ruling clears the way for Adani s takeover of JAL unless Vedanta challenges it in the Supreme Court. On March 17, the NCLT, Allahabad bench, approved Adani Enterprises Ltd’s ₹14,535-crore bid to acquire JAL through the insolvency process. This was challenged by Vedanta before the appellate tribunal NCLAT. ​