Talks between Amazon and the Future Group for an out-of-court settlement of their dispute have failed, and the US company on Tuesday renewed its plea in the Supreme Court for allowing arbitration proceedings in Singapore to resume.
“The conversation is over … Nothing is happening,” Gopal Subramanium, senior lawyer representing Amazon, told the top court on Tuesday. “Meetings and everything have taken place, but no resolution at all.” Talks ended on Saturday without any headway, Future Group’s lawyers told court.
In early March, lawyers for both Future and Amazon agreed to initiate talks to find a solution out of court to their 18-month-old discord over the Indian company’s plans to sell its retail assets to Reliance Retail. The top court had then halted hearing Amazon’s petition – challenging a Delhi High Court order that stayed the arbitration process – for about two weeks so they could talk.
On Tuesday, Amazon’s lawyers also raised the issue of Reliance Industries (RIL) taking over hundreds of Future Retail (FRL) stores. “In all fairness, how can your client take away everything and make the matter infructuous virtually?” a Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice NV Ramana asked Future Group’s lawyers.
‘Unable to Pay’
Senior lawyer Mukul Rohatgi responded that he was representing Future Coupons Pvt Ltd and not Reliance.
Harish Salve, appearing for FRL, said his client had not transferred anything to Reliance and that FRL was unable to pay rents to the landlords for more than two years. “The landlords terminated our leases. We have no money to pay them,” he said.
Salve said Reliance went ahead and signed those leases in its favour and then allowed FRL to continue operations through those stores on a “leave and licence” agreement basis. As FRL was unable to pay Rs 1,500-2,000 crore, Reliance terminated the leases and took possession of the stores, he said, adding, “Today, even if we go to a court, they will say deposit the money upfront. We have no money. We are broke.”
On Tuesday, Amazon issued a public notice in newspapers, accusing FRL of transferring hundreds of its stores to RIL in a “clandestine manner.”
“The actions have been done in a clandestine manner by playing a fraud on the constitutional court of India, the arbitral tribunal and Indian statutory authorities/agencies,” Amazon alleged in the notice. It also warned that any party assisting or cooperating in such actions would face civil and criminal consequences.
