New Delhi Television said early Monday that its promoter group has written to India market regulator asking it to clarify whether the regulator’s order in 2020 restricts conversion of warrants issued to Vishvapradhan Commercial Pvt Ltd (VCPL) into equity shares.

Indian billionaire Gautam Adani’s conglomerate last week said it was seeking to control a majority stake in NDTV, a Reuters report said.

Earlier on Friday, the Adani Group had contested claims by New Delhi Television that regulatory curbs restricted its founders from selling their stake, prolonging the battle for control of a news network seen as bastion of independent media.

NDTV on Thursday sought to block Adani’s move by saying its founders Prannoy and Radhika Roy have since 2020 been barred by India’s market regulator from buying or selling shares in India’s securities market, and so can’t transfer the shares Adani is trying to secure.

But, Adani said in a statement on Friday that the NDTV founders’ arguments were “baseless, legally untenable”.

It said the founders’ investment entity was not part of any regulatory restrictions and was “bound to immediately perform its obligation and allot the equity shares” to the conglomerate, a Reuters report from New Delhi stated.

“Two sides are clearly at loggerheads now and might have to go to the regulator or courts for relief,” said Sumit Agrawal, founder of Indian law firm Regstreet Law Advisors and a former official of India’s market regulator.

Adani is trying to execute the takeover through a little-known Indian company Vishvapradhan Commercial Private Ltd.

VCPL gave Rs. 4 billion ($50 million) in loans to NDTV’s founders more than a decade ago in exchange for warrants that allowed it to buy a stake in the news group at any time.

The conglomerate said on August 23 it had acquired VCPL and exercised those rights for a 29.18 percent stake. Separately, it added it would make an open offer for another 26 percent stake for up to $62 million. The news network said it was blindsided by Adani’s move.

NDTV maintains a 2020 regulatory order prohibits the Roys from trading in Indian markets until November 26, 2022, after an investigation found they made wrongful gains linked to suspected insider trading of NDTV shares.