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Informist, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025

 

NEW DELHI – The Delhi High Court Tuesday asked Vedanta Ltd. to approach the tribunal set up under The Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act, 2015, against the Ministry of Coal's order directing State Bank of India to appropriate INR 292.36 million from the company's performance bank guarantee for not completing milestones in operationalising Radhikarpur (West) Coal Mine in Odisha. The high court said that the status quo granted in July on the bank guarantee appropriation will continue to operate.

 

The extension of the court's July order will be for 10 days or till Vedanta approaches the tribunal, whichever is earlier, Justice Amit Sharma said. The bank guarantee of INR 2.6 billion submitted by Vedanta should be kept alive by the ministry, Justice Sharma said.

 

The high court said the issues raised by Vedanta have been disputed by the ministry, and the tribunal established under the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act has jurisdiction to adjudicate on these contentions with respect to the provisions of the Coal Mine Development and Production Agreement signed between the two parties. Even otherwise, the disputed facts cannot be decided by the high court in the present jurisdiction, it added.

 

Vedanta and the government signed the Coal Mine Development and Production Agreement in 2021, formalising the obligations and milestones for operationalising the mine. The ministry issued an appropriation order against Vedanta in July and asked SBI to transfer the amount to the Pay and Accounts Office. Challenging this, Vedanta said the order was passed arbitrarily and without considering the company's representation seeking an extension of timelines for achieving the milestones.

 

The sole ground on which the ministry sought to appropriate the performance bank guarantee was the delay in obtaining environment clearance, which, in turn, has resulted in the delayed completion of the milestone, said Vedanta. The alleged delay of more than 4 months in completing the milestone was not solely attributable to the company, as it was due to various other factors, including COVID-19 and delays in the grant of statutory clearances, the company said.

 

Tuesday, Vedanta's shares ended 1.0% higher at INR 538.40 on the National Stock Exchange.  End

 

Reported by Surya Tripathi

Edited by Saji George Titus

 

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