In the latest twist to the Amazon-Future legal tussle, the Supreme Court on Monday stayed the Delhi high court proceedings of a case related to the Future Group’s sale of its subsidiary Future Retail to Reliance Industries. The order came after Amazon moved the apex court against a high court division bench’s decision to vacate a stay on the Future Group going ahead with its ₹24,713 crore asset sale. That stay was ordered by a single judge of the court, upholding an order by the Singapore International Arbitration Centre in Amazon’s favour.
In the latest twist to the Amazon-Future legal tussle, the Supreme Court on Monday stayed the Delhi high court proceedings of a case related to the Future Group’s sale of its subsidiary Future Retail to Reliance Industries. The order came after Amazon moved the apex court against a high court division bench’s decision to vacate a stay on the Future Group going ahead with its ₹24,713 crore asset sale. That stay was ordered by a single judge of the court, upholding an order by the Singapore International Arbitration Centre in Amazon’s favour.
With this, the judicial brakes have been slammed again on Reliance Retail’s proposed amalgamation of Future Retail. Amazon had objected to this deal, alleging it would violate an investment pact it had with Future that gave it the option of buying into Future Retail. This agreement’s legal validity has been questioned, though the Singapore court found cause enough in it to pause the business’s sale to Reliance. Who’s right is for our judiciary to decide, but the twists and turns in this three-way battle mustn’t end up casting a long shadow over how business is done in India. What’s fair shouldn’t be too hard to determine.