Dispute resolution by Arbitration is not an easy ball game. The war between Future and Amazon seems far from over. The new litigation before Delhi High Court seeking directions to declare the Singapore Arbitration Court’s proceedings with Amazon illegal was rejected on Tuesday. The verdict came after Future Retail asked the high court that there was no legal basis for the arbitration to continue between the two sides, Future Retail and Amazon.com. India’s antitrust agency already had suspended Amazon.com’s 2019 deal with Future Group for e-commerce giant’s attempts to block the sale of Future’s retail assets to an Indian market leader. CCI had ruled that the U.S. company had suppressed information while seeking regulatory approval on an investment into Indian retailer Future Group two years ago. Amazon has for months successfully used the terms of $200 million investment in Future in 2019 to block the Indian retailer’s attempt to sell retail assets to Reliance Industries for $3.4 billion.
Justice Amit Bansal at the Delhi High Court said on Tuesday that the filings were dismissed, without giving any further details. A written order was to be released later on Tuesday. The court was to pronounce its order on Future group’s plea at 4.30 PM on January 4, it said.
Amazon and Future legal battle started when the former dragged Future Group into an arbitration at the Singapore International Arbitration Center (SIAC) in October 2020, claiming that the FRL had breached the deal by signing it. Amazon has successfully used the terms of its $200 million investment in a Future unit in 2019 to block the Indian retailer’s attempt to sell retail assets to rival Reliance Industries, alleging breach of certain contracts. Future denies any wrongdoing. Big Bazaar is owned by an Indian company, the Future Group, which owns 1,500 supermarkets, snack shops and fashion outlets in 400 cities in India. That bricks-and-mortar footprint makes it a prize for companies that, paradoxically, want a piece of India’s fast-growing technology and e-commerce market.
Last October, the High Court refused to maintain the arbitral tribunal’s order denying interference with the Emergency Awards (EA), which restricted Future Group from proceeding with transactions with Reliance. Today, Delhi High Court rejected Future’s petition for termination of Amazon arbitration
