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Mercantile Ports & Logistics Ltd on Wednesday said the Delhi High Court has declined to grant interim relief in its petition challenging the cancellation of a previously sanctioned one-time settlement and Swiss Challenge process agreed with its lending consortium. Shares in Mercantile Ports & Logistics plummeted 39% to 0.53 pence in London on Wednesday afternoon. The company, which operates a port and logistics facility in Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, said it had fully complied with all obligations under the sanctioned settlement, including payment of earnest money worth ₹43 crore, or about $4.8 million. MPL said it was declared the highest bidder in the original Swiss-Challenge auction, which was approved by all three consortium banks. However, the company said the settlement was later annulled on the grounds that not all lenders had consented, after Bank of Baroda withheld its final sanction for more than two months. MPL said a new Swiss Challenge auction was launched the next day on revised terms that excluded its subsidiary and lowered the approval threshold compared with the original process. The company voiced concern that the fresh auction ‘could now benefit the same bidder that lost in the original Swiss Challenge round,’ raising ‘questions of transparency and consistency.’ Managing Director Pav Bakhshi said he was ‘surprised and disappointed’ that the court had not recognised what he described as the ‘arbitrary nature’ of the OTS cancellation. ‘We believe that we have fulfilled all our obligations and that the original agreement should be honoured,’ Bakhshi said. ‘Our port has been built with British, Indian and American capital and now stands poised to support India’s growing role in international trade. ‘The continuing international investor interest we see in the future expansion of the Karanja facility reflects the valuable role the port can play in India’s expanding economy.’ Mercantile Ports said it has filed an appeal at the appellate level of the Delhi High Court and, if necessary, will seek redress from the Supreme Court of India. Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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