Vedanta revised JAL bid after learning evaluation standing: Lenders

Lenders allege Vedanta altered its JAL bid after accessing sensitive scoring details, raising concerns over fairness in the insolvency resolution process

In the insolvency proceedings of Jaiprakash Associates Ltd (JAL), the Committee of Creditors on Monday told the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal that Vedanta Ltd may have revised its bid after gaining access to its evaluation standing during the process.

 

Appearing for the lenders before the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted that Vedanta Ltd appeared to have gained access to sensitive scoring details, enabling it to alter its offer.

 

According to the lenders, Vedanta had initially fallen short on key evaluation metrics but subsequently enhanced its proposal, specifically on net present value and equity contribution, after becoming aware of its relative standing. The Committee of Creditors (CoC) maintains that such a development points to an information leak, undermining the fairness of the process.

 

 

CoC is a committee of lenders which is the supreme decision-making body in the insolvency process.

 

The appellate tribunal, headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan, was hearing Vedanta’s challenge to the selection of Adani Enterprises as the top bidder.

 

Lenders rejected Vedanta’s revised submission on the ground that it was filed beyond the stipulated deadline. National Asset Reconstruction Company Limited, a significant voting member in the CoC, argued that entertaining the late bid would derail timelines and necessitate restarting the resolution process.

 

Counsel for the lenders, Advocate Niranjan Reddy, contended that the revised offer was an afterthought once Vedanta realised it was unlikely to prevail under the original bids.

 

The matter will be taken up again on Tuesday.

 

The resolution professional (RP) of JAL on Friday had informed NCLAT that Vedanta Ltd was never formally declared as the highest bidder in the ongoing insolvency proceedings.

 

The resolution plan submitted by the Adani group received the CoC’s nod in November 2025 with 93.8 per cent voting support. National Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd, the principal lender, held a dominant voting share of around 82 per cent, while other creditors included IDBI Bank, Axis Bank, Bank of New York Mellon, and State Bank of India. The plan was subsequently cleared by the National Company Law Tribunal’s Allahabad Bench on March 17, 2026.

 

Vedanta has since challenged the outcome before the NCLAT and has also moved the Supreme Court seeking a stay on the resolution plan's implementation. The matter was then sent back to the NCLAT.

 

The company had argued that the CoC cleared Adani Enterprises’ plan worth Rs 14,535 crore despite JAL’s liquidation value being estimated at Rs 15,799.53 crore. This, the company submitted, meant creditors would have been better off if the firm had been liquidated. In contrast, Vedanta claimed its own proposal of about Rs 17,926 crore exceeded the liquidation benchmark and maximised value.

 

At the NCLAT, Vedanta contended that its bid was superior not only in absolute terms but also on a comparative basis, stating it offered roughly Rs 3,400 crore more in gross value and Rs 500 crore more in net present value (NPV) than the Adani plan. It argued that the CoC failed to record any meaningful deliberation explaining the choice of a lower-value bid.