Ericsson will have to refund Rs 550 cr if RCom insolvency proceeds: NCLAT

Ericsson India Private Limited will have to refund the entire amount of Rs 550 crore it got from Reliance Communications Limited (RCom) if the stay placed by the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on May 30 last year is vacated by it, a two-judge bench led by Chairperson Justice S J Mukhopadhaya observed.

“Why should one party get it and why should banks suffer? Why should the Indian economy suffer,” the two-judge Bench observed, adding that it would either quash RCom’s bankruptcy proceedings in NCLT or allow bankruptcy case to proceed as per law. The appellate tribunal is hearing a plea moved by RCom in which the Anil Ambani led company has urged for the insolvency proceedings against it to be started as it was unable to repay its lenders.

During the hearing on Monday, the NCLAT has asked the parties to file an affidavit stating whether they had challenged the NCLAT’s stay order of May on RCom’s insolvency in the Supreme Court.