Amazon-Future dispute: SC sets aside Delhi HC orders

New Delhi, February 1

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In a major relief to Future group, the Supreme Court on Tuesday set aside three Delhi High Court orders, including the refusal to stay the final arbitral award which had restrained Future Retail Ltd from going ahead with its Rs 24,731 crore merger deal with Reliance Retail and ordered a fresh adjudication.

A Bench led by Chief Justice of Indian NV Ramana also quashed the high court’s February 2, 2021 order to Future Retail Ltd (FRL) to maintain status quo in relation to the merger deal.

The top court set aside the March 18 HC order upholding the EA’s award and imposing a cost of Rs 20 lakh on it as well as its directors. It also quashed the October 29, 2021 HC order declining to stay an arbitration tribunal decision refusing to interfere with the Emergency Award (EA) of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC). The EA had restrained FRL from going ahead with the merger deal.

The top court remanded the pleas of Future group companies relating to arbitral award on the merger deal with Reliance Retail back to the Delhi High Court for a fresh and speedy adjudication on merits uninfluenced by the observations made by it.

US e-commerce major Amazon has been opposing the Future group decision to go ahead with the merger deal of FRL with Reliance Retail. Amazon got the EA of SIAC in its favour which restrained Future group from going ahead with the merger deal. The EA award was upheld in the final arbitral award of October, 2021.