Image Credit: Market Feed

On Friday, the Supreme Court decided in favour of e-commerce behemoth Amazon, saying that a Singapore Emergency Arbitrator (EA) award halting Future Retail Ltd (FRLRs )'s 24,731 crore merger transaction with Reliance Retail was legal and enforceable under Indian law.


Despite the fact that the word EA is not used in Indian arbitration rules, a bench of Justices R F Nariman decided that an award of an EA of a foreign country is enforceable under the Indian Arbitration and Conciliation Act.

It stated that the EA Order is a section 17(1) order that can be implemented under Section 17(2) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act. 

Amazon.Com NV Investment Holdings LLC and FRL are locked in a fierce legal battle over the contract, with the US-based company requesting that the EA award be declared genuine and enforceable before the Supreme Court.


Future Group and Amazon have been involved in legal conflicts, with the latter accusing the former of breaching pre-existing contracts while selling its assets to Reliance. Future has vehemently denied any misconduct on his part.

A Supreme Court two-judge bench said that a Singapore arbitrator's ruling from October, which placed the agreement on hold after finding substance in Amazon's concerns, was legal and applicable in India.


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Amazon maintained that the order was enforceable, while Future argued that it was not. When they signed a $200 million pact in 2019, both parties agreed to utilise a Singapore arbitration in the event of a dispute.

On the BSE today, the shares of FRL remained trapped at a lower circuit of 5% to Rs 52.55 per share, while Reliance Industries' shares fell by roughly 2% to Rs 2093 per share.

Groceries are sold in about 1,300 of Future Retail's 1,700 retail outlets in 400 cities. Its affordable supermarkets appeal to middle-class shoppers, while its upscale stores stock items such as imported cheese and fresh guacamole, which are rather uncommon in India's retail scene.

(Source: Zee Business)