Future Group v Amazon: Delhi High Court seeks assistance on SC directive to not interfere in ongoing arbitration proceedings

The Delhi High Court will continue hearing on November 1 the petition filed by Future Group challenging an order of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) which dismissed an application seeking termination of the arbitration proceedings initiated by Amazon..After hearing the parties briefly, Justice C Hari Shankar asked all counsel present to assist him with a judgment as per which the Supreme Court specifically directed the High Courts to not intervene in ongoing arbitration proceedings. With this request, the Court adjourned the hearing on the petition to November 1. .The arbitration relates to a 2019 deal of Amazon acquiring a 49% stake in Future Coupons Private Limited (FCPL) and is one of the several legal disputes the companies are embroiled in.SIAC has been hearing the arbitration between Amazon and Future Group.On June 28 this year, the tribunal rejected two applications filed by the Future Group seeking termination of the proceedings..The company contended that in December 2021, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) had suspended the clearance for the deal, stating that Amazon had failed to notify it about certain crucial details of its acquisition as required under Section 6(2) of the Competition Act, 2002.The tribunal order failed to appreciate that CCI order is a legal barrier to continuation of arbitration proceedings, the plea stated. .Future Group filed another petition objecting to an order of the tribunal permitting the arbitration claim to be amended. Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Future Group on Friday, claimed that the amendment essentially changed the nature of the claim. Instead of an amendment, what Amazon was required to do was file a fresh petition. Appearing for Amazon, Senior Advocate Gopal Subramanium pointed out that when the parties had approached the Supreme Court seeking a stay on the arbitration, Future Group had given its consent to the termination application to be heard by the tribunal itself. “They consented in Supreme Court that they will let the application for termination be heard by the tribunal. If the tribunal terminates, then so be it, but if it doesn’t terminate, then the Future Group said they will let the arbitration continue and challenge the final award,” he said. Rohatgi, however, claimed that the company never consented to this, and that they will continue with arbitration even if the main claim changes.