NSEL Gets NCLT Nod For ₹1,950-Crore Settlement With 5,682 Traders Affected In 2013 Scam

The National Company Law Tribunal at Mumbai on Friday approved a Rs 1,950-crore one-time settlement for 5,682 traders affected by the 2013 National Spot Exchange Ltd (NSEL) scam, holding that the proposal met statutory requirements and did not violate public policy.

A bench of Judicial Member Sushil Mahadeorao Kochey and Technical Member Prabhat Kumar noted that the settlement had received 91.35% approval in value and over 92% in number from specified creditors who voted, and said its role was limited to examining the legality of the proposal.

Referring to Miheer H. Mafatlal, the tribunal reiterated that it cannot revisit the commercial wisdom of the majority once statutory procedures are satisfied. 

The tribunal also clarified that the settlement does not end criminal proceedings linked to the 2013 collapse, stating that “the approval of the proposed scheme does not discharge the specified persons from any criminal action which may lie against them pursuant to orders of such Court or quasi-judicial/ non-quasi-judicial authorities on an application before such forums pursuant to approval of the proposed scheme.,” and that any discharge would depend solely on the competent courts.

According to the order, the National Spot Exchange Ltd (NSEL) was an electronic trading platform where buyers and sellers traded one-day forward contracts in commodities. In July 2013, the government directed NSEL to stop offering these contracts. When the exchange suspended all such trades on July 31, 2013, 24 trading members failed to pay what they owed, resulting in a payment default of more than Rs 5,600 crore.

Later investigations found that many of the commodities backing these trades did not actually exist or were overstated, leading to multiple civil, criminal, MPID and PMLA proceedings against various entities connected to the exchange.

The scheme was proposed in December 2024. Pursuant to NCLT directions, voting on the scheme was held through postal ballot and e-voting between 17 April and 17 May 2025. Of the 5,682 traders eligible under the scheme, 3,893 participated in the online voting process.

63 Moons, NSEL's parent company, supported the settlement and submitted that traders would recover at least 41.94% of their claims. The NSEL Investors Forum also backed the proposal. Objectors, including the ED, SFIO and EOW, argued that the scheme could affect ongoing proceedings, but the petitioner maintained that it does not, and cannot, withdraw or quash any criminal prosecutions or statutory proceedings.

The tribunal held that assigning residual claims to 63 Moons was permissible and that limitations on further recovery actions were part of the compromise approved by the majority. Finding the settlement fair, reasonable and compliant with law, it sanctioned the proposal, paving the way for payouts once procedural steps are completed.

Case Name: National Spot Exchange Ltd

Case Number: C.P. (C.A.A)/104 (MB) 2025 IN C.A.(C.A.A)/65 (MB) 2025

For Petitioners: Senior Advocate Janak Dwarakadas along with Advocates Rohit Gupta, Hemant Sethi,  Arvind Lakhawat, Manik Joshi, Mantul Bajpai, Vrushabh Vig and Vikrant Nalavade 

For NSEL Investors Forum : Senior Advocate Chetan Kapadia along with Advocate Rahul Sarda

For 63 Moons: Senior Counsel Vikram Nankani along with Advocates Amol Bavare, Krishnan Iyer     

For the Enforcement Directorate: Advocate Piyush Pande along with Advocate Neha Bhide 

For EOW: Senior Counsel Shyam Mehta aling with Advocates Abhishek Karnik, Mahadeo Kirwale 

For MPID : Senior Advocate Shyam Mehta along with Advocate Abhishek Karnik

For Bank of Maharashtra : Advocate Arti Singh and Advocate Aakashdeep Singh Roda

For Nirtex Exports and Investments Pvt. Ltd. : Advocate Piyush Raheja along with Advocate Bhuvan Singh

For Geojit Credits Pvt. Ltd. : Advocate Chirag Shah along with Advocate Mayank Mishra and Advocate Akshata Bhogle

For Lotus Refinery Pvt. Ltd. : Advocate Shreyash Chaturvedi

For L.J. Tanna Enterprises : Advocate Nausher Kohli, Advocate Jehan Fouzdar and Advocate Antara Kalambi

For Pico Capital Pvt. Ltd. : Advocate Kunal Mehta along with Advocate Hamza Lakhani and Nikhant Chaudhary

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