Anil Ambani’s legal battle with Swedish companies returned to court after 6 years, and RCOM sought…55 crore.
RCOM and its two subsidiaries paid Rs 550 crore to Swedish telecom equipment manufacturer Ericsson in 2019.
The legal battle between Anil Ambani’s Reliance Communications Ltd (RCOM) and Swedish Ericsson returned to court after nearly six years. The Ambani company is refunding Rs 550 crore from Swedish telecom equipment manufacturer Ericsson. RCOM paid the amount to Swedish companies in 2019 after the Supreme Court order. On Thursday, a Mumbai judge at the National Corporate Court Tribunal (NCLT) heard a petition from RCOM resolution professionals that the Swedish company is an operating creditor and pays first as financial creditors wait, just like a mint report. RCOM and its two subsidiaries – Reliance Telecom and Reliance Infratel – paid Rs 550 crore to Swedish telecom equipment manufacturer Ericsson in 2019.
At a brief hearing on the NCLT Mumbai bench, Ericsson’s lawyers called it “frivolous”. The bankruptcy court said it will decide on the request to bankrupt Telecom RCOM next month. The report added that the court had directed both parties to submit their responses and listed trial cases from June 11 to 12. Bankruptcy Company (RCOM) now believes that since Ericsson is an operating creditor and receives full payment before a secured financial creditor, payment equals preferential treatment.
In a court petition this week, Anish Nanavaty of RCOM’s resolution professional Deloitte said that payment to Ericsson equals “preference” because it has the effect of “making the respondent (Ericsson) the effect of making the other creditors of the company debtor (RCOM) the debtor (RCOM) the debtor (RCOM) the debtor (RCOM) the debtor (RCOM). “The requirement for a refund is an abuse of legal proceedings because the Supreme Court adopted settlements and commitments under Article 142 of the Indian Constitution,” Anil Kher, a senior defense lawyer representing Ericsson, told MINT earlier.
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Ericsson vs RCOM case
In 2013, Ericsson signed an agreement with RCOM to operate its telecom network. But after RCOM failed to pay Ericsson, it filed a bankruptcy petition in NCLT. RCOM filed for bankruptcy in 2019 and Deloitte was appointed as a resolution professional. In the same year, Ericsson won membership dues after the court battle. After missing the payment deadline, Ericsson filed a petition to the Supreme Court against former RCOM Chairman Anil Ambani and the company’s department.
Later in 2019, Deloitte filed a petition before NCLAT refunded Ericsson on the grounds of preferential payments. The Court of Appeal directed the parties to approach the Mumbai bench in NCLT, which is now retrialing the matter.
