BackHow will you comply with ₹3500 cr arbitral award? SC asks Singh brothers
Supreme Court asks Malvinder and Shivinder Singh to appear before it on 28 March and submit the planYou were the flag bearers of the pharmacare industry and it doesn't look good that you are appearing in court: SC to Singh brothers
PremiumNew Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday asked former Ranbaxy promoters Malvinder Singh and Shivinder Singh to apprise it how they proposed to comply with the ₹3500 crore arbitral award passed against them by a Singapore tribunal.
A bench headed by chief justice Ranjan Googi asked the Singh brothers, who were present in the court, to consult their financial and legal advisers and give a concrete plan on how they will comply with the tribunal's order.
"It is not about individual honour but it doesn't look good for the country's honour. You were the flag bearers of the pharmacare industry and it doesn't look good that you are appearing in court," the bench, also comprising justices Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna, said.
The bench asked the Singh brothers to appear before it on 28 March and submit the plan and said: "Hopefully it will be the last time you are appearing in the court".
The apex court was hearing the plea of Japanese firm Daiichi Sankyo, seeking to recover ₹3,500 crore, awarded to it by a Singapore tribunal in its case against Malvinder and Shivinder Singh.
The Japanese firm, which filed the contempt plea against the Singh brothers in the apex court, said it was promised some shares of Fortis Healthcare by them.
The apex court had earlier refused to pass any interim order on pleas relating to the sale of controlling stakes of Fortis Healthcare to Malaysian firm IHH Healthcare Berhad.
The top court, on December 14 last year, ordered status quo with regard to the sale of controlling stakes in Fortis Healthcare. "Status quo with regard to the sale of controlling stake in Fortis Healthcare to Malaysian IHH Healthcare Berhad be maintained," the bench had said.
The top court had also issued notices to the Singh brothers, asking them to explain why contempt proceedings should not initiated against them for allegedly violating its earlier order of not pledging shares.
The board of Fortis Healthcare had, in July, approved a proposal from IHH Healthcare to invest ₹4,000 crore by way of preferential allotment for a 31.1% stake.
Daiichi had bought Ranbaxy in 2008. Later, it had moved the Singapore arbitration tribunal alleging that the Singh brothers had concealed information that Ranbaxy was facing probe by the US Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Justice, while selling its shares.
Daiichi had to enter into a settlement agreement with the US Department of Justice, agreeing to pay a $500-million penalty to resolve potential, civil and criminal liability. The company then sold its stake in Ranbaxy to Sun Pharmaceuticals for ₹22,679 crore in 2015.
Also read: Fortis fraud may exceed ₹2,000 crore, says SFIO
The story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed
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