A bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in Bengaluru has admitted a petition filed by Antrix Corporation, ISRO’s industrial arm, for the liquidation of the area begin up Devas Multimedia and has permitted a provisional liquidator to take management of the latter’s property.
Antrix and Devas have been engaged in authorized battles in India and the US because the February 11, 2011, cancellation of a January 28, 2005, deal for ISRO to launch two communication satellites for Devas to supply digital multimedia companies to cellphones.
The petition filed with the NCLT comes three months after the affirmation by a US federal court docket of a world arbitration award to the tune of $ 1.2 billion to Devas as compensation for cancellation of the 2005 deal by the Indian authorities.
Antrix has sought liquidation of Devas on the grounds that the beginning up agency perpetrated a fraud in connivance with former Antrix officers to bag the satellite tv for pc deal in 2005.
The “provisional liquidator is permitted to initiate appropriate action in accordance with extant provisions of the Companies Act to take control of management of R1 company (Devas Multimedia) and to take custody or control of all the property effects and actionable claims to which R1 company is entitled or appears to be entitled to and take such steps and measures as may be necessary to protect and preserve the properties of R1 company and avoid misuse of its property,” the NCLT bench stated in its January 19 order admitting the Antrix petition.
“We direct the existing management of R1 company to extend full cooperation to the provisional liquidator to carry out his duties under the extant provision of companies act 2013,” the bench stated.
During the listening to of the petition legal professionals for Devas Multimedia objected to the liquidation plea saying it has come a very long time after the dispute had arisen and that there isn’t any urgency at current.
The bench additionally acknowledged that its order wouldn’t prejudice rights of the businesses in litigations within the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court. The case is posted for listening to once more on Feb 8, 2021.
In the petition, Antrix stated numerous statutory authorities have unearthed the fraud within the executing of the 2005 settlement. “The fraud is the subject matter of investigation by two premier investigating authorities of the country, the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate,” it stated.
The tribunal stated the petition and arguments by Antrix legal professionals proves prima facie that the corporate Devas had engaged in fraud. The NCLT bench has noticed that “it is unheard of that a company incorporated hardly one and half months earlier is awarded a contract from the government of India without having any technical expertise in the field”.