SC seeks Future’s response on Amazon’s plea for resumption of arbitration

The Supreme Court Wednesday asked the Future group to file its reply to an interim plea of US e-commerce major Amazon seeking resumption of arbitration over Future Retail’s merger deal with Reliance Retail and a direction to ensure the preservation of FRL’s assets.

A bench comprising Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justices A S Bopanna and Hima Kohli was told by Amazon that besides seeking resumption of arbitral proceedings, it wanted an order so that the FRL’s assets are there for it if it wins in the arbitration as the “applecart was being upset”.

“We will hear it on March 23 and pass some orders. Meanwhile, you (Future Retail Ltd and Future Coupons Private Ltd) file the reply,” the bench told senior lawyers Gopal Subramanium and Ranjit Kumar who were appearing for the US e-commerce firm.

Initially, the bench said that if Amazon wanted some interim orders urgently then it may go to the Delhi High Court or seek reliefs from the Arbitral Tribunal on resumption of the arbitral proceedings.

“I will wait for this court,” Subramanium said. Senior advocates Harish Salve and Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for FRL and FCPL respectively, said that they were agreeable to the resumption of arbitral proceedings. “I agreed yesterday. We do not need further hearing,” Salve said.

The counsel for Amazon said that besides resumption of the arbitral proceedings he wanted some interim protection concerning FRL’s assets. “I am seeking some interim protection during the pendency of arbitral proceedings given the present circumstances...Applecart is being upset now. This is why we say that pending the arbitral proceedings, these assets should not go off,” Subramanium said.

He said if Amazon loses, the merger scheme will go through and Reliance Retail will get the assets and if it wins then the assets should be there. The bench has now posted the plea of Amazon for hearing on March 23 as the first item.

On Tuesday, Amazon had told the bench that the talks with the Future Group to resolve the dispute over Future Retail’s merger deal with Reliance Retail have failed. Prior to this on March 3, the apex court had acceded to Amazon’s request and granted 10 days to it for exploring the possibility of resolving the dispute through dialogue with the Future Group. It is hearing Amazon’s appeal against the January 5 order of the Delhi High Court, which stayed the arbitration proceedings.