SC ruling brings finality to SKS Power insolvency dispute
The Supreme Court ruling in the SKS Power insolvency matter has brought finality to a long-running contest over control of the company, while also casting fresh light on the role of former promoter Anil Gupta in the background of the dispute.
The case arose from the corporate insolvency resolution process of SKS Power Generation (Chhattisgarh) Ltd., where multiple bidders had submitted resolution plans, namely Torrent Power, Jindal Power, Vantage Point Pte and Sarda Energy and Minerals Ltd.
Post an extensive bidding and clarification process, the Committee of Creditors approved the plan submitted by Sarda Energy and Minerals Ltd. with full voting support. That decision was challenged by unsuccessful applicants, but the challenge failed before the National Company Law Tribunal, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal and now the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court on February 27, 2026, held that what was being described as a change in the bid was, in substance, only a clarification. On that basis, the Court found no reason to interfere with the lenders’ decision.
The ruling is significant because it once again underlines a settled principle under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code: the commercial wisdom of the Committee of Creditors will not ordinarily be reopened by courts unless there is a clear breach of law or material irregularity in the process.
The Court made it clear that unsuccessful bidders cannot reopen the resolution exercise merely because they disagree with the lenders’ commercial choice. Beyond the legal findings of the Court, the SKS Power saga has been shadowed by external allegations concerning the company’s former promoter, Anil Gupta.
While not a subject of the present Supreme Court order, separate reports and previous allegations have suggested that Gupta sought to regain control of his flagship company by backing Vantage Point’s bid through the insolvency process.
The controversy involving Anil Gupta and his brother, Deepak Gupta, goes back to the coal block allocation cases during the UPA-II period. The two were accused of obtaining coal blocks in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh by allegedly extending financial favors to certain public officials and ministers.
In a separate judicial development in January 2026, Deepak Gupta was convicted by a CBI court in connection with one of the coal block allocation cases and was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment.
Despite these background allegations, the Supreme Court remained focused on the statutory limits of judicial review, affirming the NCLAT’s October 2024 order and confirming SEML as the rightful owner of SKS Power.
“The ruling serves as a stern reminder to the insolvency ecosystem that once a transparent process is followed and lenders take a commercial call within the framework of the law, the courts are unlikely to interfere,” said an advocate in the matter.
