Supreme Court orders status quo on Bhushan Steel liquidation

The court’s order came after JSW Steel and other creditors told the court that they plan to file a review petition against the May 2 order, which rejected JSW’s acquisition of Bhushan Power & Steel and ordered that the company be liquidated. That order created a flutter in corporate and banking circles as it came six years after JSW’s deal was approved. The acquisition under India’s Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, introduced in 2016, was often held up as an example of constructive resolution.

The liquidation was to happen before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and a bench of justices BV Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma said it was not expressing any opinion on the merits of the case at the present stage, but that “it would be in the interest of justice if status quo is maintained on the proceedings pending in NCLT.”

The bench also recorded the assurance of senior advocate Neeraj Kishan Kaul, who appeared for JSW, that a review petition would be filed before the expiry of the limitation period. “We also record the submission of the senior counsel for the appellant that the review petition shall be filed prior to the expiry of the limitation period and in accordance with the law,” the bench said.