Do you think it is fair to allow Adani to also bid for Dewan Housing since it was a late bidder? What do you think will be the stand of the courts?

It is hard to make a value judgment on whether it is fair or not because we need to look at the contents of the case and also the context. Here is what you need to know.

· It is very likely that the case may eventually end up in the court as Adani is most likely to be permitted to bid on December 14.

· Other bidders have complained that the Adani bid was an after-thought and hence should not be entertained.

· However, Adani has denied these allegations, and maintained that the overall bid was in sync with the guidelines of the NCLT.

· Let us turn to the focus of the NCLT. The primary focus of the NCLT will be to go by the recommendations of the COC, which is the set of banks that lent money to DHFL.

· The COC would look at intent to pay, the ability to pay and then directly focus on the best price realizable. That favours Adani, unless others can better Rs.35,000 crore.

· However, there is a classic precedent for this case in the Binani Cements insolvency wherein Ultratech had bettered the offer by Dalmia Cements by nearly Rs.1000 crore.

· Even though Ultratech bid came in later, the COC opted for the offer as it would reduce the haircut to the lender in a very big way and that is really material.

· If you go by that precedent, Adani clearly has an advantage in the bidding process as the courts would prefer to leave this matter to the discretion of the COC.

At the end of the day, the Adani bid may look unfair to the others due to its financial clout, but for the COC it is the best realization that matters.