Arbitral award by SIAC is valid and legal: Amazon to Delhi HC

Amazon on Wednesday opposed Future Retail Ltd’s (FRL’s) plea before Delhi high court seeking to restrain the e-commerce platform from approaching regulatory bodies such as the Competition Commission of India (CCI) and Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) against its transaction with Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL).

Amazon contended that all the parties had agreed to arbitration before the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) and the arbitral award passed is valid and legal. Future Retail has contended before the court that the arbitral award is not binding and is just persuasive in nature.

The dispute relates to Future’s sale of its retail, wholesale and warehousing assets to Mukesh Ambani’s RIL for ₹24,713 crore. Amazon, which owns a 5% indirect stake in Future Retail, has contested the sale in the Singapore court, claiming that its 2019 investment agreement bars Future Group from selling its assets to RIL.