The Supreme Court on Thursday took note of the submission of US e-commerce major Amazon and adjourned by 10 days the hearing on its plea against the Delhi High Court’s order staying the arbitration proceedings over Future Retail’s merger deal with Reliance Retail, for exploring the possibility of resolving the dispute through dialogue.
A bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana took note of the submissions of senior advocate Gopal Subramanium, appearing for Amazon, that there be no order from the Delhi High Court and the NCLAT and let us put our heads together for finding the solution.
He (Amazon’s counsel) has not said mediation but we understand is ready for mediation. So you decide. If you want to talk to your client please do…ultimately it is up to you to take a call. We are simply adjourning the hearing by 10 days, said the bench which also comprised justices A S Bopanna and Hima Kohli.
Senior advocates Mukul Rohatgi and Harish Salve, appearing for Future group, agreed to the proposal to resolve the dispute through dialogue but opposed the passing of a written order that the high court and the NCLAT will not pass any order in the meantime saying it was not necessary in view of the statements made by them.
We won’t pass any orders, meanwhile you work out. Whatever is the gentleman understanding. It is better for you to see something, the bench said and deferred the hearing to March 15.
Salve said that he was agreeable to the suggestion as nobody is winning in this.
If you want to fight legally, you do and we will decide. But we only thought about the interests of the parties. You yourself said nobody is winning… Instead of saying they should pick up the phone and call. Why don’t you facilitate that to happen, the bench told Salve, who said, Absolutely we will.
On February 23, the bench had asked Amazon and Future group to request the NCLAT to decide the plea challenging the revocation of sanction to the US e-commerce major for its deal with Future group’s firm by the Competition Commission of India.
The suggestion was made by the bench while adjourning the hearing on Amazon’s appeal against the January 5 order of the Delhi High Court staying the ongoing arbitration proceedings before an arbitral tribunal over Future Retail’s Rs 24,500-crore merger deal with Reliance Retail.
On February 9, the apex court had issued notices to Future group firms on Amazon’s plea against the January 5 order of the Delhi High Court staying the ongoing arbitration proceedings before the arbitral tribunal over Future Retail’s merger deal with Reliance Retail.
It had sought responses from the Future group firms, FCPL and Future Retail Ltd (FRL) and had said that it will hear the matter on February 23 without any adjournment.
The Delhi High Court on January 5 had stayed the Amazon-Future arbitration which is going on before a three-member arbitral tribunal over the latter’s merger deal with Reliance.
Amazon and the Future Group have been locked in a legal tussle after the US e-commerce giant dragged the latter to arbitration at the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) in October 2020.
The fresh plea, on which the apex court issued notice, has been filed by the US firm assailing the January 5 order of a division bench of the Delhi High Court staying the Amazon-Future arbitration.
The division bench of the high court had also stayed a single judge’s January 4 order dismissing the Future Group’s two pleas seeking a direction to the arbitration tribunal to decide on its application for terminating the arbitration proceedings before moving further.
The high court had said that there was a prima facie case in favour of FRL and FCPL and if a stay is not granted, it will cause an irreparable loss to them.
Amazon argued that FRL violated their contract by entering into a deal for the sale of its assets to billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Retail on a slump sale basis for Rs 24,500 crore.
In December last year, the Competition Commission of India suspended its over-two-year-old approval for Amazon’s deal to acquire a 49-per cent stake in FCPL and FRL promoter, and also slapped a penalty of Rs 202 crore on the e-commerce major.
Amazon has been objecting to the sell-off plans, accusing Future Group of breaching its 2019 investment pact. Future Coupons was founded in 2008 and is engaged in the business of marketing and distribution of gift cards, loyalty cards and other reward programmes to corporate customers.
Source: Business-Standard