NOIDA: Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) has filed an application in the Supreme Court to preserve its right to appeal against an order by the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) that recently approved Suraksha Group’s resolution plan for debt-ridden Jaypee Infratech Ltd (JIL) and asked the company to pay Rs 1,335 crore towards farmers’ compensation over four years.
Although NCLAT came out with its order on May 24, UP govt is yet to respond to it. In case it objects to Suraksha’s payment plan, YEIDA will have to appeal against the NCLAT order in the Supreme Court.
So, the Authority was left with little option but to file the application to preserve its right to appeal in the apex court last month because it only had a 45-day window for it.
The case is yet to be listed for a hearing.
While approving Suraksha’s plan, NCLAT had stressed on its timely implementation because 20,000 buyers are waiting for their flats in Jaypee Wish Town.
NCLAT order partially overturned a March 2023 decision by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), which had limited YEIDA’s claim of Rs 1,689 crore for additional farmers’ compensation to just Rs 10 lakh.
NCLAT, in turn, reduced YEIDA’s claim of Rs 1,689 crore to Rs 1,334.3 crore and approved Suraksha’s plan for JIL.
The Mumbai-based company was asked to pay the amount to the Authority in five instalments over four years, with payments proportional to the 79% received by other secured creditors. After the order, Suraksha took control of JIL, overcoming legal challenges.
Both parties held meetings to devise an action plan for the timely payment of compensation to over 10,000 farmers, who have been awaiting their dues for several years.
NCLAT had specified that Suraksha was to pay 10% of the amount within 90 days, 15% by the end of the first year, and 25% annually for the next three years.
But last month, Suraksha Group informed YEIDA it was ready to pay Rs 490 crore by Sept 30, exceeding the required 10% (Rs 133.5 crore) of the total amount. It said it would pay Rs 120 crore (9%) each by Sept 2025 and 2026, and Rs 302 crore (22.5%) each by Sept 2027 and 2028.
The Authority agreed to cover the remaining Rs 355 crore needed for farmers’ compensation from its funds.
Suraksha’s payment timeline and YEIDA’s decision to cover its share of Rs 355 crore in one instalment by Sept 30 were presented at the last board meeting on June 26 and then forwarded to the state govt for approval.
Along with it, YEIDA was instructed by the board to file a petition in the Supreme Court to secure its right to appeal, should the govt decide against Suraksha’s proposal.
Suraksha had set forth four conditions for agreeing to the enhanced payment, one of which stipulated that YEIDA must agree not to challenge the NCLAT order regarding farmers’ compensation and refrain from appealing in the SC.
