Future Retail's interim injunction plea against Amazon declined by Delhi HC

Future Retail's interim injunction plea against Amazon declined by Delhi HC

Kishore Biyani-led Future Retail Limited's (FRL) got a major blow as the Delhi High Court declined to grant an interim injunction against Amazon.

FRL had sought an injunction to restrain Amazon as the latter wrote to market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Competition Commission of India (CCI) and other authorities about the SIAC arbitral order against its asset sale.

It may be recalled that Future Retail has been engaged in a tussle with Amazon over the sale of its retail business to Reliance Industries Limited (RIL).

The order was passed by Justice Mukta Gupta of the Delhi High Court after FRL claimed that Amazon writing to the authorities about the emergency arbitrator's award amounts to interfering with the Rs. 24,713 crore Reliance-Future deal.

After FRL tried to secure the deal with Reliance for its retail businesses, Amazon secured an interim order from the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) on October 25, to stop the deal and to restrain FRL from taking steps to dispose of or encumber its assets or issuing any securities to secure any funding from a restricted party.

In this case, Reliance was categorised as a "restricted party" as per a previous agreement signed between Future and Amazon.

After this, Amazon wrote to the market regulator SEBI, stock exchanges and the CCI, urging them to take into consideration the Singapore arbitrator's interim decision as it is a binding order.