SC holds Anil Ambani and Two Directors Guilty of Contempt, Orders to pay Rs453 crore to Ericsson within 4 weeks

The Supreme Court on Wednesday held Reliance Communication Ltd (RCom) chairman Anil Ambani and two directors of the company guilty of contempt of court. While directing Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani group (ADAG) to pay Rs453 crore along with interest to Ericsson within four weeks, the apex court had also imposed a fine of Rs1 crore each on three companies of ADA group. This case was related with a contempt plea filed by Ericsson India over its pending dues of Rs550 crore from the (ADAG). The other two directors are Reliance Telecom chairman Satish Seth and Reliance Infratel chairperson Chhaya Virani. A two-judge bench comprising Justices Rohinton F Nariman and Vineet Saran also asked Reliance ADAG group to purge contempt by paying Rs453 crore with interest to Ericsson within four weeks. If not paid, three months' jail term will follow, the bench said. The bench directed the court's registry to give Ericsson Rs118 crore that were earlier deposited by RCom. The apex court said the entire amount that RCom has to pay to Ericsson is Rs550 crore plus the interest that was generated. The court also imposed a fine of Rs1 crore each on RCom, Reliance Telecommunication and Reliance Infratel that would be deposited with the Supreme Court Legal Services Committee (SCLSC). In case of default the chairman of all three companies would have to undergo sentence of one month each. The bench ordered this as it did not accept the "unconditional apology" tendered to the court by the RCom chairman. Mr Ambani was present in the court when the order was announced. Last month, the Swedish telecom equipment maker has petitioned the apex court to Mr Ambani over recurring delays in payment of its dues worth Rs550 crore. Ericsson had accused the embattled businessman of engaging in 'gross and wilful contempt' of the apex court. The company had said that insolvency proceedings should be initiated against RCom and its spectrum and tower sale deal with Reliance Jio should be stopped “with immediate effect”. In its second contempt plea, the Swedish company had also requested the apex court to bar Mr Ambani from leaving India for defaulting on payments. Earlier in October 2018, Ericsson had filed its first contempt petition in the Supreme Court. At that time, RCom had stated that it sought another 60 days for the repayment of Rs550 to the Swedish company. Last week, the Supreme Court dismissed two court masters Manav Sharma and Tapan Kumar Chakaraborty for tampering with its order in Ericsson’s contempt plea against RCom and personal appearance of the company chief Mr Ambani. According to reports, on 7th January, the apex court had directed Mr Ambani to make personal appearance through a notice. However, when the order was uploaded on the SC website, it read: “personal appearance of the alleged contemnor(s) dispensed with.” More details soon... Source: Money life