NOIDA: The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has approved Adani Enterprises’ Rs 14,535-crore resolution plan for Jaiprakash Associates Ltd (JAL), under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016. However, the fate of its stalled Jaypee Sports City project – and thousands of affected homebuyers -near the upcoming Noida International Airport hinges on the outcome of a parallel legal battle before the Supreme Court.
The top court is set to hear the developer’s petition challenging an Allahabad high court’s March 2025 order, which upheld the decision of the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) to cancel JAL’s allotment of 1,000 hectares of land in Feb 2020. The Authority had cited non-payment of dues and failure to develop the designated Special Development Zone (SDZ).
The Jaypee Sports City project, announced in 2010, envisioned a large integrated township anchored by a Formula 1 circuit, alongside residential and commercial developments. Thousands of buyers invested in the project between 2010 and 2014, but construction stalled as the developer ran into mounting debt and delayed payments to lenders and the Authority.
According to Sunil Sharma, vice-president of the Jaypee Sports City Welfare Society, JAL launched 12 housing projects within the YEIDA area, attracting around 4,600 investors. In addition, 13 projects were initiated by other developers on land sub-leased by JAL. None of the projects in the SDZ has been completed so far, leaving homebuyers in prolonged uncertainty.
Following persistent defaults, YEIDA cancelled the land allotment in Feb 2020, triggering legal proceedings. In its March 2025 ruling, the high court upheld the cancellation and directed the Authority to take over the incomplete housing projects and ensure their completion under existing agreements with homebuyers.
The matter is now pending before the Supreme Court, which will determine the future course of the land parcel and the completion of residential projects under SDZ, including Jaypee Greens Bougainvilleas, Jaypee Greens Country Homes I & II, Jaypee Greens Greencrest Homes, Jaypee Greens Krowns, Jaypee Greens Kove, Jaypee Greens Buddh Circuit Studios, Jaypee Greens Kassia I, II and III, Jaypee Greens Sportsville, and Jaypee Greens Villa Expanza.
JAL’s insolvency process, meanwhile, was admitted in June 2024 under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, after the company defaulted on loans exceeding Rs 50,000 crore. Proceedings were initiated by ICICI Bank, which cited defaults across multiple loan facilities. Other lenders subsequently joined the case.
The insolvency action followed a 2018 directive from the Reserve Bank of India, asking banks to initiate corporate insolvency proceedings against the company.
The NCLT’s approval of Adani Enterprises’ resolution plan is expected to address a significant portion of JAL’s debt, though the treatment of its real estate assets remains closely watched.
Several Jaypee Group entities have already undergone insolvency resolution. In NCR, Jaypee Infratech Ltd, which developed the Wish Town project in Noida, was acquired by the Suraksha Group in 2024 following a prolonged resolution process.
JAL also has diversified interests spanning construction, cement manufacturing, and hydropower. The company has previously attributed its financial distress to factors including an economic slowdown, policy shifts affecting hydropower projects, and declining cement prices due to excess capacity.
