RIL deal: Future Groups hints at challenging arbitration award in Indian forum

In what could be a long drawn legal battle ahead, the Kishore Biyani-led Future Retail on Monday hinted at challenging an arbitration order that put a temporary hold on its Rs 24,713-crore deal to sell assets to Reliance Industries. Future Retail said it wasn’t party to the agreement under which Amazon.com had invoked arbitration proceedings and therefore actions taken by its board cannot be held back in arbitration proceedings.

Future Retail said that it is in the process of examining the interim order and it has to be tested under the provisions of Indian Arbitration Act in an appropriate forum. “As per advice received by FRL, all relevant agreements are governed by Indian law and provisions of Indian Arbitration Act for all intents and purposes and this matter raises several fundamental jurisdictional issues which go to the root of the matter….In any enforcement proceedings, FRL would take appropriate steps to ensure that the proposed transaction will proceed unhindered without any delay,” Future Retail said.