Anil Ambani who is already reeling under the debt of Rs 47,000 crore and recently filed for bankruptcy has finally paid dues worth Rs 459 crore to Ericsson. The Supreme Court on February 20, had held Reliance group chairman and its directors guilty of contempt for willfully not paying Rs 550 crore to Ericsson. The earlier order had come after Ericsson, the Swedish telecom equipment maker, filed third contempt plea in the court as Reliance Communications (RCom) failed to pay its dues. The court had said that if within four weeks, Anil Ambani failed to pay dues then he will be sent to jail for three months.

The hearing on February 20

The bench of Justices RF Nariman and Vineet Saran had ordered Reliance to pay Rs 453 crore to Ericsson within four weeks to avoid Contempt. Rs 180 crore that was paid by Reliance to court will now be given to Ericsson. Rs 1 crore fine was also imposed on RCom, Reliance Telecom Ltd and Reliance Infratel Ltd, the companies which come under Reliance group.

While rejecting the apology by the Reliance group, SC had said, “Unconditional apology by Reliance can’t be accepted given the attitude of the deponent to the highest court of the land. Three Reliance companies had no intention of payment of money, it amounts to contempt”.

What is the case and the repeated contempt plea

Ericsson in 2014, they had signed a seven-year deal to operate and manage RCom’s nationwide telecom network but were not paid dues to the tune of over Rs 1,000 crore.

Ericsson was supposed to get the payment as part of the business deal. Reportedly, the Anil Ambani group has already been battling a debt of about Rs 47,000 crore. In May 2018, in dispute settlement at National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), Ericsson had agreed to scale down its dues from Rs 1,600 crore to Rs 550 crore to be paid by September end. It was agreed upon the condition that if the company failed to pay up, it would be pushed back to insolvency proceedings at National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and sale of its assets would be reversed.

As Anil Ambani failed to pay the dues by September 30, Ericsson filed a contempt of court petition on October 4 and requested the court to not allow Anil Ambani and two senior executives to leave the country. Ericsson said, “They have no respect for the nation, and have abused the process of law.” The Ambani-owned company, on September 28 asked for a 60-day extension to the previously decided deadline of September 30 to settle dues.

The Supreme Court on October 24 granted relief to Anil Ambani-owned Reliance Communication and gave time till December 15 to repay the dues to Ericsson. On October 2, Reliance Communication had sought a 60-day extension to repay the dues of about Rs 550 crore. Justice Nariman said that this was the last chance for the company, and in case of further delay in payment would attract the interest of 12% per annum.

Later on January 4, they filed another contempt of court petition. In the contempt petition, Ericsson has asked Ambani to be detained and be barred from travelling overseas unless he ensures payment.

In the same case, the Supreme court sacked its two officials for tampering with a judicial document.

Also Read: SC Dismissed Its Own Officials For Tampering With Judicial Documents In Anil Ambani’s Contempt Case