New Delhi: National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) will hear e-commerce major Amazon’s interim plea on February 14, seeking a stay on the order passed by fair trade regulator CCI, which suspended its more than two-year-old approval for the deal. Future Coupons Pvt Ltd (FCPL).
A three-member bench on Monday directed the listing of Amazon’s plea on February 14 to pass an interim order and stay the operation of the order passed by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) in December last year, until it finally does not decide the matter.
“The registry has been directed to list for hearing on February 14,” the bench of NCLAT said.
The appellate tribunal also directed the appeals filed by Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) and All India Consumer Product Distributors Federation to be listed on the same date.
During the proceedings, Gopal Subramaniam, representing Amazon, requested a stay on the order passed by the CCI till the hearing of the appeal. According to him, the period of 60 days given by the CCI to comply with its order is coming to an end.
However, it was opposed by Harish Salve, who was appearing for Future Group Firm and said that the matter was decided today only for directions.
“Please fix a date, we will debate it,” Salve said. He said today the matter is listed only for fixing the date.
Meanwhile, CCI’s counsel suggested starting the day-to-day final hearing of the matter as “it was an important issue and all submissions in the matter were completed”.
On this, the Appellate Tribunal said that the hearing on the interim application of the case will be held on February 14 only and will decide the matter for hearing later.
In December, the CCI suspended the Amazon-FCPL deal, saying the US e-commerce major had suppressed information while seeking approval for the transaction at the time.
The CCI, in a 57-page order, had said that the approval for the Amazon-Future coupon deal would remain suspended.
Amazon and Future have been locked in a bitter legal tussle after US e-commerce giant Future Group dragged Future Group to arbitration at the Singapore International Arbitration Center (SIAC) in October 2020, arguing that Future Retail Limited (FRL) had breached its contract by making a deal to sell its assets to billionaire Mukesh Ambani. Reliance Retail 24,713 crore based on sales.
Recently, the FRL had also approached the SIAC to stay the arbitration proceedings based on the order passed by the CCI.
However, the SIAC rejected the petition.
Subsequently, Future Group approached the Delhi High Court, where a division bench on January 5 stayed the proceedings in SIAC on January 5-8.
Amazon has also challenged this order in the Supreme Court.
SIAC is deciding on Amazon’s objections against Future Group’s Rs 24,713-crore deal, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd., a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd., to be sold retail and wholesale business and logistics and warehousing business in August 2020. was announced for.
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court set aside three orders of the Delhi High Court, including refusing to stay the final arbitral award, which prevented FRL from going ahead with the Rs 24,731 crore merger deal with Reliance Retail. was stayed and a new decision was ordered.
The top court had on February 2 last year also set aside the high court’s order directing FRL to maintain status quo with regard to the merger deal.
A three-member bench on Monday directed the listing of Amazon’s plea on February 14 to pass an interim order and stay the operation of the order passed by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) in December last year, until it finally does not decide the matter.
“The registry has been directed to list for hearing on February 14,” the bench of NCLAT said.
The appellate tribunal also directed the appeals filed by Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) and All India Consumer Product Distributors Federation to be listed on the same date.
During the proceedings, Gopal Subramaniam, representing Amazon, requested a stay on the order passed by the CCI till the hearing of the appeal. According to him, the period of 60 days given by the CCI to comply with its order is coming to an end.
However, it was opposed by Harish Salve, who was appearing for Future Group Firm and said that the matter was decided today only for directions.
“Please fix a date, we will debate it,” Salve said. He said today the matter is listed only for fixing the date.
Meanwhile, CCI’s counsel suggested starting the day-to-day final hearing of the matter as “it was an important issue and all submissions in the matter were completed”.
On this, the Appellate Tribunal said that the hearing on the interim application of the case will be held on February 14 only and will decide the matter for hearing later.
In December, the CCI suspended the Amazon-FCPL deal, saying the US e-commerce major had suppressed information while seeking approval for the transaction at the time.
The CCI, in a 57-page order, had said that the approval for the Amazon-Future coupon deal would remain suspended.
Amazon and Future have been locked in a bitter legal tussle after US e-commerce giant Future Group dragged Future Group to arbitration at the Singapore International Arbitration Center (SIAC) in October 2020, arguing that Future Retail Limited (FRL) had breached its contract by making a deal to sell its assets to billionaire Mukesh Ambani. Reliance Retail 24,713 crore based on sales.
Recently, the FRL had also approached the SIAC to stay the arbitration proceedings based on the order passed by the CCI.
However, the SIAC rejected the petition.
Subsequently, Future Group approached the Delhi High Court, where a division bench on January 5 stayed the proceedings in SIAC on January 5-8.
Amazon has also challenged this order in the Supreme Court.
SIAC is deciding on Amazon’s objections against Future Group’s Rs 24,713-crore deal, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd., a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd., to be sold retail and wholesale business and logistics and warehousing business in August 2020. was announced for.
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court set aside three orders of the Delhi High Court, including refusing to stay the final arbitral award, which prevented FRL from going ahead with the Rs 24,731 crore merger deal with Reliance Retail. was stayed and a new decision was ordered.
The top court had on February 2 last year also set aside the high court’s order directing FRL to maintain status quo with regard to the merger deal.
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