The Supreme Court on Wednesday, 20 February, held Reliance Communications Chairperson Anil Ambani and two directors guilty of contempt of court for wilfully not paying Rs 550 crore to Ericsson India.
The contempt plea was filed by Ericsson India against Ambani over not clearing the company’s dues, reported ANI.
The top court said on Wednesday that Ambani and two directors have to pay Rs 453 crore to Ericsson India within four weeks. A three-month jail term will follow if they fail to pay the amount within the time period assigned, the bench comprising Justices RF Nariman and Vineet Saran added.
“From the undertakings given by Reliance Group’s top brass, it appears they have wilfully not paid the amount to Ericsson despite orders.”Supreme Court, as quoted by PTI
The two directors who have been held guilty of contempt are Reliance Telecom Chairperson Satish Seth and Reliance Infratel Chairperson Chhaya Virani, according to ANI.
The apex court also directed Reliance Telecom and Reliance Infratel to pay Rs 1 crore each in four weeks to the apex court's registry or the chairperson will have to go an additional jail term of one month.
It directed that the Rs 118 crore already deposited by the Reliance Group in the apex court's registry be disbursed to Ericsson, PTI reported.
The apex court specified that any unconditional apology given by Reliance needs to be rejected as they have breached the undertaking and the order.
Reliance Will ‘Honour’ Top Court’s Order
According to Mint, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, who appeared for Ambani, said the chairperson could not be made personally liable for the dues as RCom was a public listed company, and that Ambani did not make any unconditional undertaking.
Responding to the court’s judgment, Rohatgi said that he respects the decision and expressed confidence that the group will honour the directions on payment of dues to Ericsson.
"We respect the Supreme Court's order. we have faced our difficulties. However, the court ruled the way it has ruled," Rohatgi told PTI minutes after the verdict was pronounced.
"I am sure RCom will honour the Supreme Court's order," Rohatgi said.
Congress Trains Its Guns on PM Modi and Anil Ambani
Alluding to the Rafale deal, Congress trained its guns on Prime Minister Modi and Anil Ambani and said, “What Will Modiji do to help his dear friend, maybe another undeserved defence deal?”
Anil Ambai’s Reliance Defence is the Dassault Aviation’s offset partner for the Rafale deal.
Senior Congress leader Randeep Surjewala, too, took a dig at PM Modi and Ambani.
Taking a swipe at PM Modi and Ambani, Lawyer Prashant Bhushan shared a picture of Modi hugging Ambani which was captioned.
Reliance Shares Tumble After SC Order
The shares of Reliance Group companies took a hit after the apex court’s decision. Reliance Capital tumbled 10.26 percent, Reliance Communications tanked 9.46 percent, Reliance Infrastructure dropped 8.75 percent, Reliance Power fell 5.52 percent, Reliance Naval and Engineering shares plummeted as much as 3.4 percent and Reliance Home Finance 5 percent on BSE in intra-day trading.
(With inputs from Mint, PTI and ANI)
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