Supreme Court recalls judgment liquidating Bhushan Power

The Supreme Court on Thursday recalled its May 2 judgment that had rejected JSW Steel's ₹19,700 crore resolution plan for Bhushan Power and Steel Ltd (BPSL) and had ordered its liquidation.

A Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) BR Gavai and Justice SatishChandra Sharma said that the May 2 judgment under review did not correctly consider the legal position.

Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Union of India, and Senior Advocate Neeraj Kishan Kaul, representing JSW Steel, made detailed submissions highlighting the implications of the May 2 ruling.

SG Mehta contended that no substantial question of law had been raised in the matter and that the judgment rendered findings merely based on doubt.

On the practical consequences of the judgment, Mehta noted that JSW Steel had been running BPSL since 2021 with 25,000 people currently employed.

Kaul also questioned the use of Article 142 to overturn the approval of the resolution plan and criticised the reliance on arguments not raised during the hearings.

He further informed the Court that a provisional attachment was made by the Enforcement Directorate after the plan was approved, leading to prolonged litigation and delay.

The Court also heard Senior Advocate Arvind Nigam, representing the Resolution Professional, who confirmed that extensions to the timeline had been duly granted by the NCLT and NCLAT.