The Supreme Court of India on Monday declined to interfere with the order of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), which had refused to stay the Adani Group's Rs 14,535 crore bid to acquire Jaiprakash Associates (JAL).

However, the court directed that the monitoring committee of JAL should not take any major policy decisions without prior approval from the NCLAT.

The bench asked Vedanta Ltd and Adani Enterprises to present their arguments and counterclaims before the NCLAT, which is scheduled to begin final hearings in the matter on April 10. It also urged the appellate tribunal to resolve the dispute expeditiously.

Vedanta had earlier approached the top court seeking a stay on the NCLAT order that allowed the implementation of Adani Group's resolution plan. The appeal was filed on March 25, a day after the NCLAT declined to grant interim relief.

The NCLAT, in its March 24 order, had refused to halt the insolvency process despite Vedanta's challenge to the approval granted by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). It had also sought a response from JAL's Committee of Creditors within a week and listed the matter for further hearing on April 10.


Vedanta was among the bidders for JAL under the insolvency process, but lenders approved Adani Enterprises' resolution plan in November last year, which was later cleared by the NCLT.

Challenging this, Vedanta has filed two separate appeals before the NCLAT-one questioning the validity of the resolution plan and the other contesting its approval by both the Committee of Creditors and the NCLT.