Amazon vs Future: SC reserves order on transferring case to HC, allowing Reliance deal

  

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court reserved orders on the future course of the multi-layered litigations between Biyani group's Future Coupons and cash-starved Future Retails, the latter managing to stay afloat with a promised Rs 25,000 crore deal with Reliance Industries, on one hand and the trillion dollar multinational retail company Amazon on the other.

With complications galore in the high-stake dispute, including orders of Emergency Arbitrator of Singapore restraining Future Retails from going ahead with the Rs 24,713 crore deal for sale of retail chain assets to Reliance contrasting with the Competition Commission of India keeping in abeyance its earlier permission for Amazon's Rs 1,500 crore investment in Future Coupons, a bench of Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justices A S Bopanna and Hima Kohli heard composite arguments from top lawyers Harish Salve and Mukul Rohatgi for Biyani group companies and Gopal Subramanium and Ranjit Kumar for Amazon on various appeals filed before the SC.

Amazon has 49% stake in Future Coupons, which in turn owns 9.82% shares in Future Retail. It was Amazon's contention that Biyani group could not have entered into a deal with Reliance Industries without the approval of FCPL Board. Salve said that Biyani group's retail business had become zero during the pandemic and it had run into serious debt.

"Reliance is ready to pump in Rs 25,000 crore into the retail chain, retain all 25,000 employees and service the debts of the retail chain owning company," he said.

Amazon through Subramanium said Biyani group is acting in breach of the Supreme Court orders which had stopped all authorities from proceeding further on one hand and while upholding the Emergency Arbitrator's jurisdiction to give an award restraining further processing of the Future-Reliance deal on retail chain assets.

Salve and Rohatgi pleaded that to implement the Rs 25,000 crore deal with Reliance, Future Retail has to undertake a 14-step process.

"Let the process go on till the penultimate step and by then the course of litigation would be known. If the Future emerges winner, then the deal could then be finalized quickly to save the bankrupt company from liquidation and save its 25,000 employees from retrenchment. If Amazon wins, then the process would be stopped without achieving the final results," they said.

But, Subramaniam opposed it saying that once the Emergency Arbitrator has given an award, it should get fully implemented and at best, the Delhi High Court can hear Future group's challenge to the award under Section 37 of the Arbitration. Act.

Later, both sides accused each other of a hidden agenda in pursuing the multi-forum litigation. Salve said that Amazon knows that it would not be allowed by the government to invest in retail chain business and hence is trying to arm twist Future Retail on the basis of Rs 1,500 crore investment in Future Coupons.

 

"It wants the company to sink. The banks are hopeful of retrieving their loans from the deal with Reliance. But, Amazon wants it to sink and employees get sacked for it to acquire the financially devastated company on the sly," he alleged.

Rohatgi said that Future Coupon has an agreement with Amazon but Future Retail has none with the multinational company.

"How could there be arbitration at all when there exists no agreement between the two parties? Now that the CCI has kept in abeyance its approval for Amazon's Rs 1,500 crore investment in Future Coupons, the last straw of legitimacy for Amazon's semblance of right over Future Coupons has been blown away," he said.

But, both Subramanium and Kumar said that Amazon had always been trying to help out beleaguered Future Retail but the Biyanis do not want to even look at the offers of the Amazon for revival of the retail chain. SC reserved orders after hearing arguments for nearly two hours from both sides.

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(With input from news agency language)

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