SC reserves verdict on Future pleas against Delhi HC order

New Delhi, January 11

The Supreme Court on Tuesday reserved verdict on a batch of pleas filed by Future Group firms against a Delhi High Court order declining stay on an arbitration tribunal decision refusing to interfere with the Emergency Award (EA) of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC).

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• The Delhi High Court had declined stay on an arbitration tribunal decision refusing to interfere with the Emergency Award of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre
• The Bench said the pleas, which are arising from the Emergency Award and are pending before it, may not be “relevant now as the final award of the SIAC has already been passed”

“We reserve the order. All the four SLPs (special leave petitions) are over. A lot of homework for us. Anyway I will not write lengthy judgment,” a Bench headed by Chief Justice NV Ramana said.

Initially, the Bench, also comprising justices AS Bopanna and Hima Kohli, suggested to the counsels for Amazon and the Future Group firms that the single judge Bench of the Delhi High Court be allowed to hear the statutory appeals of the Future group against the final arbitral award of the SIAC.

The Bench said the pleas, which are arising from the EA’s award and are pending before it, may not be “relevant now as the final award of the SIAC has already been passed”.

“Your (Future Group) first SLP which has challenged Justice JR Midha (Delhi HC) order, we had said no implementation of that order. We never said Delhi High Court to not hear the matter for what has come up subsequently,” the Bench observed at the outset. —