NCLAT upholds Adani Power’s `4k-crore acquisition of Vidarbha Industries Power

New Delhi: The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has upheld the acquisition of Vidarbha Industries Power by Adani Power Ltd (APL), India’s largest private thermal power producer, dismissing challenges to the Rs 4,000-crore resolution plan approved earlier by the Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).

A two-member NCLAT bench rejected petitions filed by Western Coalfields and a Vidarbha Industries Power employee, Pradeep Sot, holding that the objections lacked merit and did not disclose any violation of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). The appellate tribunal affirmed the NCLT’s June 18, 2025 order approving APL’s resolution plan.

In its 18-page judgment dated January 16, the NCLAT said the resolution plan complied with all statutory requirements and that the Committee of Creditors (CoC) exercised its commercial discretion in a fair and lawful manner. “No grounds have been made out to interfere with the order approving the resolution plan submitted by Adani Power,” the tribunal said.

The appellants had alleged that the CoC approved the resolution plan after the expiry of the 180-day corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) period without seeking an extension, and that Adani Power modified the plan after the deadline. They also contended that the resolution professional filed the modified plan beyond the prescribed timeline.

These claims were refuted by Adani Power’s counsel, who argued that the plan was approved in accordance with Section 30(2) of the IBC. The resolution professional also supported the NCLT order, stating that the resolution plan was approved at the 10th CoC meeting held on February 19 and 21, 2025, well within the 180-day period.

The NCLAT noted that the CIRP commenced on September 30, 2024, with the 180-day period ending on March 28, 2025, and that the approved resolution plan was submitted to the NCLT on March 11, 2025. Any subsequent modification in the acquisition structure approved on April 1, 2025, did not violate IBC timelines, it said.

The tribunal also reiterated the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Essar Steel case, clarifying that financial and operational creditors are not required to receive equal treatment under a resolution plan, as “the equality principle cannot be stretched to treating unequals equally.”