The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to take a relook at its May 2 judgment that scrapped the JSW Steel’s acquisition of the debt-laden Bhushan Power & Steel Ltd (BPSL) and ordered the latter’s liquidation, giving relief to the Sajjan Jindal-led company.
The court said it will hear on Thursday in an open court various petitions filed by JSW Steel and lenders of Bhushan Power, including State Bank of India and Punjab National Bank, seeking review of the judgment that rejected JSW Steel’s Rs 19,300-crore resolution plan for BPSL after four years of acquisition, citing non-compliance with IBC rules.
A bench of Chief Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma also sought response from BPSL creditor Kalyani Transco, Enforcement Directorate, former promoter and others on various review petitions. "Applications for listing review petitions in open court and applications for oral hearing are allowed. Issue notice. List these matters on Jul. 31, at 1500 IST", the brief order stated.
JSW Steel, which had warned that the liquidation will be “fatal” to it and other stakeholders, including lenders and workers, had asked for an open court hearing in the Supreme Court.
The SC had on May 26 ordered status quo on the liquidation proceedings of bankrupt BPSL and said that the same would operate till it decided the review petition filed by JSW Steel, giving a big relief to the Sajjan Jindal company.
Supporting JSW, the lenders too said that JSW's resolution plan was successfully implemented by March 2021 with an upfront payment of Rs 19,350 crore. The banks said that the May 2 judgment suffered from patent errors on the face of the record.
The May 2 ruling had scrapped JSW Steel’s acquisition of BPSL after four years on the grounds that the resolution plan was “illegal” and “in gross violation” of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). While directing the NCLT to initiate liquidation proceedings against BPSL, the court had directed that payments made to financial and operational creditors and the equity contribution by JSW Steel be refunded within two months, as undertaken by the lenders to the bankrupt firm.
BSPL owed more than Rs 47,000 crore to lenders when the Reserve Bank of India put it on a bankruptcy resolution list in 2017. The NCLT began the resolution process in July that year, based on the filing of lead lender Punjab National Bank, which initiated criminal proceedings in 2019 against former directors of the company after unearthing a Rs 3,800 crore fraud on its books. Punjab National Bank and State Bank of India led the committee of creditors (CoC). JSW Steel acquired BPSL in March 2021 after its proposal was approved by the CoC and the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT).
The NCLT approved JSW Steel’s offer in 2019 while holding that the successful bidder could not be held responsible for any alleged misdeeds of the previous promoters at any stage. The NCLAT had upheld the decision in February 2020.
The court said it will hear on Thursday in an open court various petitions filed by JSW Steel and lenders of Bhushan Power, including State Bank of India and Punjab National Bank, seeking review of the judgment that rejected JSW Steel’s Rs 19,300-crore resolution plan for BPSL after four years of acquisition, citing non-compliance with IBC rules.
A bench of Chief Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma also sought response from BPSL creditor Kalyani Transco, Enforcement Directorate, former promoter and others on various review petitions. "Applications for listing review petitions in open court and applications for oral hearing are allowed. Issue notice. List these matters on Jul. 31, at 1500 IST", the brief order stated.
JSW Steel, which had warned that the liquidation will be “fatal” to it and other stakeholders, including lenders and workers, had asked for an open court hearing in the Supreme Court.
The SC had on May 26 ordered status quo on the liquidation proceedings of bankrupt BPSL and said that the same would operate till it decided the review petition filed by JSW Steel, giving a big relief to the Sajjan Jindal company.
Supporting JSW, the lenders too said that JSW's resolution plan was successfully implemented by March 2021 with an upfront payment of Rs 19,350 crore. The banks said that the May 2 judgment suffered from patent errors on the face of the record.
The May 2 ruling had scrapped JSW Steel’s acquisition of BPSL after four years on the grounds that the resolution plan was “illegal” and “in gross violation” of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). While directing the NCLT to initiate liquidation proceedings against BPSL, the court had directed that payments made to financial and operational creditors and the equity contribution by JSW Steel be refunded within two months, as undertaken by the lenders to the bankrupt firm.
BSPL owed more than Rs 47,000 crore to lenders when the Reserve Bank of India put it on a bankruptcy resolution list in 2017. The NCLT began the resolution process in July that year, based on the filing of lead lender Punjab National Bank, which initiated criminal proceedings in 2019 against former directors of the company after unearthing a Rs 3,800 crore fraud on its books. Punjab National Bank and State Bank of India led the committee of creditors (CoC). JSW Steel acquired BPSL in March 2021 after its proposal was approved by the CoC and the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT).
The NCLT approved JSW Steel’s offer in 2019 while holding that the successful bidder could not be held responsible for any alleged misdeeds of the previous promoters at any stage. The NCLAT had upheld the decision in February 2020.
