SC reserves order on Ericsson’s contempt plea against RCom chief Anil Ambani

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday reserved its verdict on Ericsson’s contempt plea against Reliance Communications Ltd and its chairman Anil Ambani for wilful disobedience of its earlier orders to pay its dues worth Rs 550 crore.

A bench comprising Justices R F Nariman and Vineet Sarain reserved its verdict after hearing arguments from parties for over five hours.

Three contempt petitions have been moved against RCom by Ericsson. Clad in a blue suit, Anil Ambani was present in the court throughout the hearing. Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for RCom, told the bench that Ambani could not be made personally liable for the dues as RCom was a listed company with lakhs of shareholders, and an individual director or the entire group could not be made liable for the liability of the company. “RCom did not make any unconditional undertaking as he said that the offer was conditional on sale to Reliance Jio, which fell through at the Department of Telecommunication’s end,” Rohatgi said.