: Amazon-Future arbitration stayed #FinanceIndia #StockMarketNEWS #Business Press Trust of India New Delhi The Delhi High Court on Wednesday stayed the Amazon-Future arbitration which is going

@StockMarketNEWS Sun 09 Jan, 2022

Posted in: #FinanceIndia #StockMarketNEWS #Business

Amazon-Future arbitration stayed #FinanceIndia #StockMarketNEWS #Business
Press Trust of India

New Delhi

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday stayed the Amazon-Future arbitration which is going on before a three-member arbitral tribunal over the latter’s `24,500-crore deal with Reliance.

It 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 tribunal is adjudicating Amazon’s objections to Future Retail’s deal with Reliance.

A bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh said there is a prima facie case in favour of appellants Future Retail Ltd and Future Coupons Pvt Ltd and if a stay is not granted, it will cause an irreparable loss to them.

“Looking into the order passed by the Competition Commission of India on December 17, 2021, by which the approval (for deal with Future Group) granted on November 28, 2019, was kept in abeyance and showed there was a suppression of facts by the respondents (Amazon), there is a prima facie case in favour of appellants.

“If a stay is not granted, it will cause irreparable loss to these appellants,??? the bench said.

The court said much has been argued by both sides like a final hearing on the appeals and all these grounds will be dealt with on February 1,including the issue of maintainability.

“We hereby stay further proceedings of the arbitral tribunal till the next date of hearing and we also stay the single judge’s January 4 order till the next date of hearing,??? the bench said while listing the matter for further hearing on February 1.

The high court also issued a notice to Amazon. Com NV Investment Holdings LLC on the appeals filed by Future Retail Ltd and Future Coupons Pvt Ltd challenging the single judge’s order.

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 in October 2020.

Amazon argued that Future Retail Ltd 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.

Future Retail Ltd and Future Coupons Pvt Ltd were represented through senior advocates Mukul Rohatgi and Harish Salve respectively; who submitted that the arbitral proceedings be stopped otherwise it would be illegal.

Senior advocate Gopal Subramanium, who represented Amazon, said it was incorrect to say that the tribunal was not mindful of the termination application and that it was not considering it.