After a long trial in the Delhi High Court, the case concerning Future Retail Ltd and Reliance Retail, no objective conclusion could be reached upon and the case was transferred to the apex court of the country, The Supreme Court of India. But, alas, the top judicial institution of South Asia could not come up with a fair conclusion and it was agreed by all parties to hand the case over to the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC).
But, in a sudden twist, the Supreme Court has decided to resume the case and give it one more crack before sending it to the SIAC.
The case involves two giants of the retail industry – Future Retail Limited which owns various retail chains like Big Bazaar, Brand Factory and Nilgiris, and American e-commerce direct to customer company – Amazon.
According to Future Retail’s spokesperson, Amazon has sold Future’s retail assets worth $3.4 billion USD to their direct rivals Reliance Retail which is founded and run by Mr. Mukesh Ambani.
Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justices Krishna Murari and Hima Kohli who took the consent of all parties involved has now resumed the unfinished case.
Amazon even publicly said that Future Retail and many of their clients have been involved in fraudulent activities after the ownership of some of Future Retail stores were passed on to the Reliance Retail.
After Future Ltd’s accusations, Amazon sent them a legal notice stating that they have violated the agreed upon terms and conditions of their contract. Three years ago in 2019, Amazon acquired a 49 per cent share of Future Coupons, a subsidiary of Future Retail Ltd that helps with the promotion and marketing of their parent company.
Amazon has also been very vocal about Future Retail’s merger with Reliance Retail saying that should happen.
The Supreme Court stated that the SIAC would allow the case to continue at the Supreme Court. Before this, the top judicial institution of the country kindly requested both Future Retail Ltd and Amazon to make the High Court of Delhi to hear the petitions and complaints that Amazon filed pertaining to the retail assets of Future Retail.
With the case dragging on for more than 2 years, all parties are now desperate to come to fair conclusion. The Delhi High Court even told the two companies to stop sending them so many complaints and requests asking them about the status of the case as it only slows the entire process down. Hopefully, the Supreme court can end this debacle soon
