Amazon.com NV Investment Holdings on Thursday filed a special leave petition in the Supreme Court against a recent Delhi high court order that allowed Future Group to go ahead with its proposed ₹24,713 crore deal with Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL).
Amazon contended that the Delhi high court’s division bench, according to the arbitration Act, did not have the authority to entertain Future Retail Ltd’s (FRL’s) appeal against the e-commerce giant. Neither did it have the authority to pass any interim order that acted against the Singapore International Arbitration Centre’s 25 October emergency arbitration order that restrained Future Group from taking any step towards the asset sale deal with RIL, Amazon argued.
On Monday, Delhi high court allowed Kishore Biyani-led Future Group to continue working toward its deal with RIL, stating that the US-based e-commerce giant cannot interfere in the deal and that regulatory authorities such as the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) and NCLT should not be prevented from discharging their statutory duties with regards to the deal.
Debt-laden Future Group is entangled in a bitter legal tussle with Amazon over its proposed deal with RIL, which entails a sale of Future Group’s retail, wholesale, logistics and warehousing assets to two RIL subsidiaries to repay the group’s lenders. Delhi high court has said it will pass the judgement on the matter on 26 February.
However, the latest interim order may have a bearing on the court’s final verdict, since Monday’s interim order essentially means Amazon’s primary argument, that SIAC’s October order is enforceable in India, is not strong enough to stop the Future-RIL deal.
Monday’s order was passed by a two-judge bench as against the previous one on 2 February which was passed by a single- judge bench. In the 2 February interim order the Delhi high court had halted Future Group’s sale of its assets to RIL, saying the SIAC order was enforceable in India.
“…Most importantly, the interference with the Single Judge Order by issuing a stay thereon is completely devoid of reasons… This aspect of the matter has wide ramifications far beyond the present SLP and impacts upon the desirability of India as an arbitration-friendly jurisdiction,” said Amazon on Thursday.
