The Supreme Court will render a decision on Friday about JSW Steel Ltd’s ₹19,700 crore resolution plan for bankrupt Bhushan Power and Steel Ltd (BPSL), perhaps marking the end of one of India’s longest-running insolvency cases. A special bench headed by Justice B.R. Gavai, together with Justices Satish Chandra Sharma and K. Vinod Chandran, will render the decision in accordance with the high court’s cause list. On August 11, the bench reheard JSW Steel’s review plea and reserved its decision. Whether JSW Steel keeps control of BPSL or is forced into liquidation—a decision that might have significant ramifications for the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) framework—will depend on the outcome.
The Supreme Court’s decision on May 2 invalidated JSW Steel’s resolution plan and mandated BPSL’s liquidation, which prompted the review request. That order put approximately ₹34,000 crore in bank debt at risk and forced banks to refund ₹19,350 crore that JSW Steel had already paid. The decision was recalled on July 31 and was delivered in accordance with Article 142 of the Constitution. The court criticized consideration of arguments not presented at previous hearings, reliance on factual errors, and improper application of IBC principles.
A new hearing was made possible by the recall, and Friday’s ruling is now seen as JSW Steel’s final opportunity to keep BPSL. After defaulting on loans totaling more than ₹47,000 crore, BPSL was one of 12 major defaulters that the Reserve Bank of India named in 2017. In 2018, JSW Steel outbid Tata Steel and became the highest bidder with an offer of ₹19,700 crore. Lenders authorized the plan, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approved it in 2019, and the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) upheld it in 2020. However, litigation kept delaying its implementation until JSW took over in March 2021.
JSW Steel asserts that since then, BPSL’s production capacity has almost doubled, rising from 2.3 million tonnes annually in 2017 to 4.5 million tonnes annually in 2025. The Supreme Court’s decision will now determine whether BPSL is sent into liquidation, if JSW Steel keeps the bankrupt firm, or whether a new bidding process is mandated.
