The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Future Group to not proceed with a proposed $3.4 billion sale of its retail assets to Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) till its legal wrangle with Amazon.com.Inc is decided conclusively.
“We cannot allow you to do anything in the meantime. We are very clear on it. Where is the question of your filing suits and SLPs (special leave petitions), and in the meantime you keep going ahead? What remains then? We hope you don’t proceed,” a bench, headed by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana told lawyers for the Future Group.
“If you go on doing everything, what remains to be finally decided? If meetings etc go on, nothing remains. On the other hand, you can buy your own sweet time and go on filing appeals, suits etc,” added the bench, which also comprised justices AS Bopanna and Hima Kohli.
The bench recounted that the court on September 9 passed an order by consent of both Amazon and Future, barring the Delhi high court, regulators and other statutory authorities in the country from passing any effective order on the Future-Reliance deal for the following four weeks.
“That was an order passed after both of you agreed. We hope you don’t do anything now and will not proceed,” the bench told senior counsel Parag P Tripathi, who appeared for the Future Group.
{{/usCountry}}“That was an order passed after both of you agreed. We hope you don’t do anything now and will not proceed,” the bench told senior counsel Parag P Tripathi, who appeared for the Future Group.
{{/usCountry}}As Tripathi assured that the group would not proceed, the bench further asked him to take an adjournment before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) where Future Group has pressed for convening meetings of its shareholders and creditors to seek approval on a sale proposal of the retailer’s assets to Reliance.
The court fixed the matter for a detailed hearing on November 17 when it will also take up Future Group’s petition against the Delhi high court’s refusal to stay the Singapore arbitration tribunal’s October 21 ruling. The Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) restrained the Future Group from going ahead with its deal with Reliance. The high court on October 29 issued notice on the Future’s petition fixing the case for a hearing on a later date but declined to stay SIAC’s interim order in the meantime.
On Wednesday, the bench was hearing Amazon’s plea to restrain all authorities, including NCLT, from allowing any measure that may facilitate the Future-Reliance deal till the matter is finally decided by the top court.
Senior advocate Ranjit Kumar, appearing for Amazon, cited the Future Group’s attempt to conduct a meeting of shareholders and creditors for approval to sell its retail assets to Reliance, requesting the bench to issue a restraining order.
Tripathi, for Future, argued that the process of meeting etc takes between 35-40 days and there is nothing that is happening just now. The bench, however, retorted that SIAC’s order is binding on the Future Group, as was also held by the Supreme Court’s judgment on August 6, and therefore, the retailer should choose its remedies in terms of this verdict.
As Tripathi said that the Delhi high court is reluctant to pass any order in view of the Supreme Court’s interim restraining order on September 9, the bench remarked that it had not prevented the high court from examining the case on merit but the interim order was confined only on the aspect of coercive steps against Future Group’s directors.