August 27, 2025

Hold your breath, Mumbai! The Welspun Group has fired a tough legal shot at Valor Estates in the battle over Lavasa Corp’s debt mess. The drama is unfolding at the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) Mumbai bench. Lavasa Corp was once building India's very first planned hill city – a dream project now caught in a financial tangle. Welspun’s plea, filed through its subsidiary, claims Valor Estates is not fit to bid in this debt resolution fight. Why? Because their promoters have a shaky track record of financial trouble! Specifically, the plea points out links between Valor’s promoters and another jeweller sitting on heaps of defaulted loans – Yash Jewellery. This link, Welspun argues, should automatically toss Valor out of the bidding game under Section 29A of the bankruptcy code. This crucial law stops anyone with past financial misconduct or wilful defaults from jumping into resolution processes. And here's the spice! The plea says Pramod Goenka, Vinod Goenka's brother (Vinod is Valor’s chairman), is closely tied to Yash Jewellery, which has been a non-performing asset since March 2014 and is under liquidation. The plot thickens with another Valor group company, Goan Hotels & Realty, also tagged as a non-performing asset because of unpaid loans to Yes Bank. A source familiar with the case said, "This plea could delay the resolution for years. It is unlikely that either side will back down now. We could see this process being a long drawn one." Valor Estates, however, isn’t taking these charges lying down. A company spokesperson told ET, "The company adheres to the bankruptcy code guidelines and the announced resolution process, which includes the relevant statute on bidding eligibility. All submissions-including confirmations relevant to Section 29A-have been and will be made to the resolution professional and the Committee of Creditors strictly in line with their directions. We also respect the confidentiality obligations embedded in the IEOI/RFRP (bidding documents) and expect all stakeholders to do likewise." Meanwhile, emails seeking comments from Welspun and the resolution professional Udayraj Patwardhan went unanswered. The fiery legal fight between Welspun and Valor has shaken the Lavasa debt resolution process, turning what should be a straightforward rescue mission into a suspense-filled courtroom drama. Will Valor survive the disqualification storm? Or will Welspun’s legal cannon blast them out? Only time and the NCLT’s final verdict will tell.

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Tags: Welspun group, Valor estates, Lavasa corp, Nclt, Bankruptcy code, Debt resolution,