Three Indiana state funds asked the United States Supreme Court late Saturday to delay a deal to sell most of Chrysler’s assets to Fiat, their last hope of challenging the transaction after two lower courts approved it.

In documents filed to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, lawyers for the funds asked to extend a stay on the sale, which is set to expire Monday at 4 p.m. The funds are seeking to have the high court re-examine the case, after the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld the sale Friday afternoon.

Justice Ginsburg, who oversees the Second Circuit, may decide the matter on her own or refer it to the full Supreme Court. If the Supreme Court declines to issue its own stay of the deal, Chrysler and Fiat will be free to close the transaction immediately.

The three Indiana funds, which represent teachers and police officers, have sought greater compensation for their portion of Chrysler’s $6.9 billion in secured debt. They have also argued that the Obama administration illegally used federal bailout money earmarked for financial institutions to help Chrysler.

“The negative economic consequences of permitting an unlawful sale to proceed may well over time dramatically outweigh Chrysler’s short-term harm,” the funds said in their brief.

Lawyers representing Chrysler, the Indiana funds, the government, Fiat and others made their arguments in a two-hour hearing before the Court of Appeals. The judges issued their decision after a 10-minute recess, affirming a bankruptcy court judge’s approval of the sale.

Lawyers for Chrysler and the government argued that the sale to Fiat should be completed as quickly as possible to preserve Chrysler’s viability and to save thousands of jobs. Fiat can walk away if no agreement is struck by June 15.

Last week, Judge Arthur J. Gonzalez of United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York approved the sale to Fiat, overruling more than 300 objections. He later agreed to shorten a customary 10-day stay of the sale to four days, though the Court of Appeals stayed the transaction pending its hearing.