Division Bench of Delhi HC stays Single bench order favouring Emergency Award against Future-Reliance deal

New Delhi [India], March 22 : The Division Bench of Justice DN Patel and Justice Jasmeet Singh on Monday stayed Justice JR Midha order favouring the Emergency Award against Future-Reliance deal. The Bench has also issued a notice to Amazon on Future appeal.
Division Bench while passing the order says, "having heard the counsels and looking at the facts and circumstances of the case, the single bench order is stayed. The division bench had now slated the matter for April 30th.
Future Retail Limited and Future Coupons Private Limited on March 20 had moved Division Bench of Delhi High Court challenging Single bench order passed on March 18th which had uphold the Emergency Award passed against Future-Reliance deal.
The single bench had also directed Future Group's Directors to appear in person before April 28, is also stayed by the division bench today.
Senior Advocate Harish Salve and Rajeev Nayyar appeared for the Future group and Senior Advocate Gopal Subramanian appeared for Amazon.
The single bench of Justice JR Midha on March 18th while upholding the Emergency Award passed against the Future-Reliance deal also imposed costs of Rs 20 lakhs on Kishore Biyani and others.
A single-Judge Bench had said that the Singapore arbitration order is enforceable. The court accepted Amazon's pleas against the deal, reject Future Group's arguments and said the order of emergency arbitrator remains valid, enforceable under Indian law.
Justice Midha also had said that Future Retail Group will have deliberately disobeyed the order and liable to face action under the code of civil procedure. Court also issued a show-cause notice to Future Retail and others, asking them why they should not be detained in civil prison. Further, the HC had directed to attach properties of CEO Kishore Biyani and others related to Future Group.
Earlier the Court had directed Future Retail Limited to maintain the status quo with respect to deal with Reliance while granting interim relief to Amazon.
The Single Bench had ordered on Amazon plea where the petitioner has submitted that the respondents including Future Coupons Private Limited have deliberately and willfully violated and are continuing further with the violation of the order dated October 25, 2020, of the Emergency Arbitrator. The petitioner has sought an immediate interim order to protect its rights till the pronouncement of the reserved order.
The respondents are objecting to the enforcement of the order dated October 25, 2020, passed by the Emergency Arbitrator on various grounds, inter alia, that the Emergency Arbitrator is not an Arbitrator/ Arbitral Tribunal; the order dated October 25, 2020, is not an order under Section 17( 1) and is not enforceable under Section 17(2) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, the respondent is not a party to the arbitration agreement and the order dated October 25, 2020, is a nullity, Court had said.
The court, however, said that "This Court is of the prima facie view that the Emergency Arbitrator is an Arbitrator; the Emergency Arbitrator has rightly proceeded against the respondent; the order dated October 25, 2020, is not a nullity; the order dated October 25, 2020, is an order under Section 17(1) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act."
"This Court is of the view that the order dated October 25, 2020, is appealable under Section 37 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act. This Court is of the clear view that the order dated October 25, 2020, is enforceable as an order of this Court under Section 17(2) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act. The detailed reasons shall be given in the reserved order," the Court said.
The Court also directed all the concerned authorities to maintain a status quo with respect to all matters in violation of the order dated October 25, 2020 and shall file the status report with respect to the present status within ten days of the receipt of this order.