Appeal filed before Delhi High Court Against Single Judge Order Upholding Emergency Award in Amazon v. Future Case

Appeal filed before Delhi High Court Against Single Judge Order Upholding Emergency Award in Amazon v. Future Case

An appeal was filed against the order of a Single Judge of the Delhi High Court (HC) Justice JR Midha which had held that Future Retail, Future Coupons, Kishore Biyani, and other promoters, directors violated the Emergency Award, and imposed costs of Rs 20 lakh.

Future Group Companies have entered into a fresh round of litigation with Amazon as it moved to the HC in an appeal against the order of the Single Judge that held the enforceability of the Emergency Award against its deal with Reliance.

The appeals were filed by Future Retail Ltd, Future Coupons Pvt. Ltd., and the promoters. The date of hearing is 22 March 2021 before a Division Bench of the HC consisting of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Jasmeet Singh.

The single judge of the HC Justice JR Midha had held that Future Retail, Future Coupons, Kishore Biyani, and other promoters, directors violated the Emergency Award. It also imposed costs of Rs 20 lakh on Future Group companies, Biyani, and other respondent parties.

Directing Future Group to not take any further action in furtherance of the deal with Reliance, the Single Judge had held that the Emergency Arbitrator had rightly invoked the 'Group of Company' doctrine about the Future Group companies.

It passed the said order on its observation that the Future Group companies and its directors, promoters be in deliberate and willful violation of the Emergency Award.

Justice Midha had also issued a show-cause notice to Biyani and other promoters, directors of Future Group companies, wherein it asked them as to why they should not be detained in civil prison for a term not exceeding three months.

The order is further directed for the attachment of assets of Biyani, Future Retail, Future Coupons, and other respondent parties.

Justice Midha also ordered that combining/treating all the agreements between Amazon-Future Coupons Ltd and Future Coupons-Future Retail as a 'single integrated transaction' did not amount to control of Amazon exercising control over FRL and therefore, would not violate any law.