New Delhi, Oct 13 The Supreme Court on Tuesday junked a plea by state-owned trading firm MMTC challenging an order of appellate tribunal NCLAT, which approved a one-time settlement (OTS) of Rs 1,950 crores between 63 Moons-backed National Spot Exchange Ltd (NSEL) and traders.
A bench of Justices P S Narasimha and Alok Aradhe dismissed the appeal filed by MMTC against the March 30 judgment of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT).
NCLAT had on March 30 set aside an appeal by state-owned trading firm Metals and Minerals Trading Corporation of India (MMTC), challenging the OTS between 63 Moons-backed National Spot Exchange Ltd (NSEL) and traders.
The NSEL was an electronic commodities spot exchange, created to trade agricultural commodities and metals electronically on a single platform. The exchange was backed by 63 moons technologies limited.
The Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) had on November 28, 2025, approved the OTS scheme between NSEL, along with its promoter 63 Moons, and traders who had dues aggregating nearly Rs 4,300 crore.
The scheme was challenged by MMTC before the NCLAT, saying it is “prejudicial to the public interest” and opposed to public policy.
During the course of the hearing, the NCLAT had pointed out that the said NCLT order of November 11, 2025, has already been approved by it and also been affirmed by the Supreme Court in a civil appeal on March 9, 2026.
However, Additional Solicitor General (ASD) Vikramjit Banerjee, representing MMTC, had argued that even if it is approved by the “NCLT and this Tribunal and affirmed by the Supreme Court, can be recalled if it is proved the scheme is vitiated by fraud”.
In support of his argument, the ASG had referred to various paras of the order passed by the NCLT, and contended that some facts were wrongly recorded.
However, NCLAT in its order had said the OTS scheme was approved by more than 90 per cent of creditors and from May-November 2025, the MMTC did not challenge the resolutions passed and voted against it.
“We need to say the ASG had only pointed out to the paras of the impugned order to show the fraud is committed upon the NCLT but to our considered view, at best it can be treated as an incorrect finding but not fraud,” NCLAT had said, adding, “we need to note neither the ED nor EOW (Economic Offences Wing) or MPID (Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors) came up in appeal before this Court and none of these authorities even challenged the scheme before the NCLT.”
Moreover, NCLT in its order dated September 17, 2025, recorded that the counsel appearing on behalf of Mumbai Police’s EOW and the competent authority under the MPID Act had submitted that they had no objection to the proposed scheme.
Under the settlement scheme, traders had agreed to withdraw all legal cases against NSEL and 63 Moons.
The NSEL crisis originated in July 2013, when the Department of Consumer Affairs had asked NSEL to close out all contracts, which had aggravated a payments crisis worth over Rs 5,400 crore.
(PTI News)
