The Supreme Court has ordered status quo in the Essar Steel insolvency case halting the ArcelorMittal's payment of Rs 42,000 crore.

The top court also ordered the tribunal to expeditiously decide on the pleas pertaining to the case.

The NCLAT had approved ArcelorMittal's bid for Essar Steel in a huge relief for the lenders. The case which has dragged on for almost two years saw some closure when the NCLAT finally gave its approval to the ArcelorMittal's bid of Rs 42,000 crore for the beleaguered steel giant.

The NCLAT had said that it could ask the ArcelorMittal to deposit Rs 42,000 crore in a separate account or with the Ahmedabad branch of the NCLT in the next hearing.

The NCLAT had also asked the winning bidder (ArcelorMittal) to file an affidavit laying out the details of resolution plan for the steel giant.

The tribunal also asked the CoC to submit details of the meeting which was held to consider extra allocation to operational creditors. In a meeting of the CoC, the lenders had decided to allocate rs 1,000 crore for the operational creditors compare to rs 200 crore earlier.

The ArcelorMittal had also contended before the NCLAT that the money cannot be deposited without the assignment of the debt by the lenders.