Why the Essar judgment has scored a win above all for common sense

The verdict will rekindle hope in the integrity of India's bankruptcy process, but it will take a lot more work to allay concerns about its effectiveness

Two-and-a-half years after the Indian central bank took the highly unusual step of directing banks to put 12 large corporate debtors into bankruptcy, the most closely watched of the "distressed dozen" cases has finally been resolved.

With the Supreme Court in New Delhi clearing the decks for the sale of Essar Steel India Ltd., the Ruia family has accepted defeat. Control of the 10 million-tons-a-year integrated plant in western India will pass to ArcelorMittal, which will pay banks 420 billion rupees ($5.9 billion), or 90% of their claims.

This final episode of a drawn-out legal saga, in which the Ruias