Delhi High Court Halts Future, Amazon Arbitration Proceedings
Delhi High Court has halted arbitration proceedings between Future Group and its estranged US partner Amazon.com in light of the Competition Commission of India's (CCI) suspension of a 2019 deal between the two sides.
The decision on Wednesday is a setback for USÂ e-commerce giant Amazon, which had successfully used the terms of its 2019 investment in a Future unit to block the Indian company's attempt to sell retail assets to a rival.
But after the CCIÂ suspended the 2019 deal last month, citing suppression of information by Amazon while seeking clearances, Future argued there was no legal basis for the arbitration between the two sides to continue in Singapore.
A two-judge bench led by Chief Justice DÂ NÂ Patel of the Delhi High Court agreed with Future's arguments, putting the arbitration proceedings on hold. If the proceedings are not halted, Justice Patel said this would cause an "irreparable loss" to Future.
"We hereby stay further proceedings of arbitral tribunal till next date of hearing," said Justice Patel, adding the court will reconvene on February 1 to hear the case again.
Future and Amazon did not respond to requests for comment.
Later in the day, the Singapore International Arbitration Center (SIAC) terminated the arbitration proceedings in the Amazon-Future dispute scheduled between January 5 and 8 after a stay order was passed by the Delhi High Court on Wednesday, agency reports said.
"In view of this order, the Singapore International Arbitration Center has terminated the arbitration proceedings scheduled between January 5 and 8, 2022, until further orders," said Future Retail in a regulatory filing.
Meanwhile, a source familiar with the case said that Amazon was likely to legally challenge the Delhi High Court's decision.
The long-running dispute is being heard by a Singapore arbitration panel, but the so-called "seat of the arbitration" is New Delhi, meaning proceedings are governed by Indian law.
Amazon has long argued that Future violated the terms of its 2019 deal in deciding to sell retail assets to market leader Reliance Industries, and the USÂ company's position had so far been backed by the Singapore arbitrator and Indian courts. Future denies any wrongdoing.
The dispute over Future Retail, which has more than 1,500 supermarket and other outlets, is a flashpoint between Jeff Bezos' Amazon and Reliance, run by tycoon Mukesh Ambani, as they try to gain the upper hand in Indian retail.
Future had approached the Delhi High Court after the Singapore arbitration panel did not agree to its immediate demands to terminate the proceedings after antitrust suspension of the 2019 deal.
Amazon has said it will legally challenge the CCI's suspension of the 2019 deal.
Future has said it is staring at liquidation if the Reliance asset sale deal fails after its retail businesses were hit hard during the COVID-19 pandemic.
-
Talking Points This Week: Tech Nerves, FII Buying, And A Faraway Banking Shock
The global markets are not shining this Diwali. The exception in the large markets is, India.
-
Midterm Rally Lasted A Day. The Hard Reality Of A Divided US May Last Two Years | Opinion
Between a contested AI boom, a debt ceiling that arrives in 2027 and a president with every incentive to act alone, the next two years may prove more volatile than the first day's rally suggests.
-
Blue Wave Will Derail the AI Trade but Won't Dismantle the AI Era | Unhedged Position
The Democrats' sweep of the US Congress will see politics collide with economic forces both over the long and short term.
-
It's Time To Take The GST Council's Bet On Trust Global
Payment records can prove India's services exports, and clear, proportionate rules can bring foreign digital sellers into the tax net.
-
Opinion | India at 38: From Innovation Overperformer to Innovation Powerhouse
India now has 453 VC-backed deep science startups, 18 of them late-stage, after 117 percent growth since 2020. Laurus Labs, at USD 9.3 billion, is the most valuable deep science company in any middle-income economy outside China.
-
Navigating Energy Crossroads: S Jaishankar's Call For Diversified Supply Chains At G20 Ministerial Meeting
As geopolitical fault lines continue to test maritime trade routes and commodity flows, Jaishankar's message remains pertinent: true economic resilience requires open markets, protected transit lines, and a genuine commitment to multilateral cooperation rather than coercion.
-
Indians Are Travelling, But Not Every Journey Is A Holiday | The Week In Whys
Pilgrims, patients and working women are the real travellers, and the system hasn't quite caught up with them.
-
Getting To Work Costs Women More | The Reason Why
It is not just about women paying more than men. It is about women paying much more in cities than in villages.
-
AI Bias In Investing Cannot Be Eliminated, But It Can Be Governed
Framing is a particularly important example as identical financial information presented in terms of gains rather than losses can lead an LLM to reach a different assessment.
