Delhi HC Junks Future Group's Plea To Stop Foreign Tribunal Proceedings With Amazon

In a setback for Future Group, the Delhi High Court has dismissed its petition to stop Singapore tribunal's proceedings in its dispute with Amazon. Future Group had sought an early hearing in view of the tribunal's plan to begin final hearing in the dispute from 5th January, which will now continue as per schedule as the High Court found no reason to interfere with the foreign tribunal's proceedings.


The single-judge bench of Justice Amit Bansal held that there is nothing to suggest that the Arbitral Tribunal denied an equal opportunity to both the parties, observing that arbitral orders can't be called perverse merely for fixation of tight timelines and denial of adjournment requests. The court ruled that Arbitral Tribunals have the discretion to decide the manner of conduct of proceedings, and said that tribunals are free to decide the order in which applications filed by parties will be considered. The court clarified that Arbitration Act is a law in itself, intended at swift disposal of disputes, and the purpose of arbitration will be frustrated if parties are encouraged to move court at every stage.


Future Group had argued that arbitration can't proceed as the basis of Amazon's claims were knocked out by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) by revoking its approval for the American e-commerce giant's investment with the Future Group. Accusing the arbitral tribunal of showing scant respect for Indian law by proceeding with hearing despite CCI orders, Future Group had submitted that it wanted to proceed for a deal with bitter adversary Reliance to avert bankruptcy and get over Rs. 24,000 crores.


Though the High Court's single-judge bench had earlier held that Amazon was in control of Future Coupons, Future Group had pointed out that CCI had already undone its approval granted to Amazon to invest in 2019. The anti-trust regulator had also imposed a fine of Rs. 202 crores on Amazon for hiding facts and giving false information to get regulatory nod.


Future Group had sought more time to appear before the tribunal as half of its lawyers were down with COVID, claiming that it didn't have a budget of Rs. 8,500 crores like Amazon to only fight court cases. Amazon had junked Future Group's claims of lack of money, submitting that 23 prominent lawyers had appeared for the Future Group in various courts. Amazon had argued that arbitration clauses between the companies will remain unaffected by the CCI order to suspend approval to the deal.
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