On 10th January, Amazon has moved the Supreme Court challenging a Delhi High Court ruling that suspended the ongoing arbitration proceeding against Future Group concerning the 2019 contract arrangement between the two companies. According to persons acquainted with the issue, the Special Leave Petition (SLP) was filed on Saturday and is anticipated to be heard this week.
In the recent past, Amazon's acquisition of a 49 percent share in Future Coupons Private Limited (FCPL) has been the subject of several court battles. Amazon's complaint against Future Group concerning the 2019 purchase is now being heard by an arbitration panel in Singapore. The tribunal had issued an interim order halting the sale of Future Retail's assets to Reliance Industries. The CCI had postponed the deal's clearance last month, claiming that Amazon had failed to notify it of some key elements of the transaction, as required by Section 6(2) of the Competition Act, 2002. As a result, Amazon was also hit with a Rs. 202-crore penalty.
The Future Group petitioned the Delhi High Court for a suspension of the arbitration proceedings before the Singapore tribunal, citing the CCI judgement. The Division Bench delayed the proceedings before the Singapore tribunal, notwithstanding the fact that the pleas were dismissed by a single judge. The Bench had cited the CCI ruling as one of the reasons for doing so, as well as the fact that the Future Group would suffer irreparable harm if the proceedings were not stopped. The Division Bench had also served notice to Amazon and set a hearing date on February 1, 2022.
