.jpg)
For India to invoke "sovereign" or "state" immunity to safeguard its foreign assets, which are under threat of getting seized in the intensifying legal battle with Cairn Energy, may come with several riders. Experts point out that the Indian government has to first satisfy the French court that the properties or assets that are under consideration are being used to dispense the state's sovereign functions.
A French court has ordered freezing of an Indian government property in Paris on a plea by Devas shareholders who are seeking to enforce a USD 1.3 billion arbitration award over a cancelled satellite contract, according to the court order copy.
TDSAT had stated no amount was payable till resolution of the disputes.
The government on Tuesday said it will allow setting up of world-class foreign universities in Gandhinagar's GIFT City, free from domestic regulations, to facilitate availability of skilled manpower in the financial services space. In addition, an international arbitration centre will be set up in the GIFT City for timely settlement of disputes under international jurisprudence, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said while presenting the Union Budget for 2022-23. The centre could be on the lines of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre, or the London Commercial Arbitration Centre.
The Indian government has asked a federal court in Washington to dismiss Britain's Cairn Energy suit seeking enforcement of a $1.2 billion arbitral award, saying it had sovereign immunity under US law. Cairn had in May asked a US federal court to force Air India to pay a $1.26 billion arbitration award the firm had won in December. The government on August 13 filed a 'Motion to Dismiss' petition in the US District Court for the District of Colombia, saying it lacked subject matter jurisdiction in the dispute between Cairn and the Indian tax authority, according to a filing seen by PTI.
The size of bilateral trade is only $6 billion a year.
Unfazed by the Supreme Court upholding winding up of the company, shareholders of Devas Multimedia will continue to seek seizure of Indian government assets abroad to collect $1.2 billion the firm has been awarded by arbitration tribunals for cancellation of a satellite deal but are open for talks to settle the issue, their counsel said. "The decision by the Supreme Court does not change anything. The Modi government and the Indian courts cannot rewrite the facts. "Their flimsy allegations of fraud will never stand up in courts outside of India," said Matthew D McGill, partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, and lead counsel for several Devas' shareholders.
China has taken a position of non-acceptance and non-participation on the jurisdiction by the International Court of Arbitration in a case the Philippines has brought against China's claims to nearly all of the South China Sea, Abraham Denmark, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence for East Asia, told lawmakers at a Congressional hearing.
A New York court has paused Cairn Energy's pursuit of US assets of Air India for the recovery of $1.2 billion arbitral award, so as to allow the British firm to reach a settlement with the Indian government on the long drawn dispute. The New York district court delayed the tax suit to November 18, according to court documents reviewed by PTI. This follows Cairn Energy and Air India jointly asking the court to stay further proceedings in view of the fresh government enacting a fresh law to scrap retrospective taxation in the country.
India is increasingly a willing participant in the evolving US' Indo-Pacific strategy. While these developments are related to the perception of a growing Chinese security challenge, their implications for India's much-vaunted strategic autonomy should be a matter of deeper and closer reflection, asserts former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
Britain's Cairn Energy has secured a French court order to seize 20 Indian govt properties to recover arbitration award, it is learnt.
Britain's Cairn Energy Plc has dropped lawsuits against the Indian government and its entities in the US and other places and is in the final stages of withdrawing cases in Paris and the Netherlands to get back about Rs 7,900 crore that were collected from it to enforce a retrospective tax demand. As part of the settlement reached with the government to the seven-year old dispute over levy of back taxes, the company - which is now known as Capricorn Energy PLC - has initiated proceedings to withdraw lawsuits it had filed in several jurisdictions to enforce an international arbitration award which had overturned levy of Rs 10,247 crore retrospective taxes and ordered India to refund the money already collected. Two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said Cairn on November 26 withdrew the lawsuit it had brought in Mauritius for recognition of the arbitration award and took similar measures in courts in Singapore, the UK and Canada.
The 2015 World Bank group's Doing Business index ranked India at 142, down from 140, which it was the year before.
British oil firm Cairn Energy Plc on Tuesday said it has identified Indian sovereign assets overseas, which it can seize in the event of New Delhi failing to return over USD 1.7 billion that an international arbitration tribunal has ordered after rescinding a retrospective tax demand.
An international tribunal in the Hague has ruled in favour of the Philippines.
.jpg)
Faced with over Rs 11,200 crore (Rs 112 billion) tax liability, Vodafone India chief Analjit Singh on Thursday met Finance Minister P Chidambaram for the second time this week and expressed the hope that there will be clarity soon on the proposal to settle the dispute through conciliation.
The mediation between the warring co-managing partners of India's largest law firm Amarchand Mangaldas, brothers Cyril and Shardul Shroff, was accepted by the Bombay high court on Wednesday. According to the terms of the arbitral award, the brothers have agreed to 'split and bifurcate into separate entities independently carrying on the profession of law'.
Siva group defaulted on payment in 2016 and is also facing CBI investigation
Former super cop and Magsaysay award winner Dr Kiran Bedi is all set to hit the small screen with her reality show Aap ki kachehri on Star Plus. The show replaces Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi.
The lease term of the Taj Palace Hotel, owned by the Indian Hotels Company, will expire on April 1, 2013, and it must settle a dispute with the Delhi Development Authority over the quantum of licence fee for a smooth renewal.
Vodafone is facing tax liability over its $11 billion acquisition of a 67 per cent stake in the mobile-phone business owned by Hutchison Whampoa in 2007.
As per the award, Infosys is required to pay Bansal the outstanding severance amount of Rs 12.17 crore, with interest
'The worst case scenario is for China to behave like a bull in China shop, and brazenly and wantonly indulge in further encroachments, create obstacles to free navigation and convert SCS into an Air Defence Identification Zone.'
Finance Minister P Chidambaram has asked UK-based Vodafone Group, which is facing a tax liability of over Rs 11,200 crore in India, to give its view on the long-pending matter in writing, a senior official said.
Surprised at the World Bank's decision to appoint a neutral expert, as sought by the Indian government, and at the same time establish a Court of Arbitration as wanted by Pakistan, India said proceeding with both the steps simultaneously "legally untenable".
RIL has denied knowingly producing any gas from the ONGC block
On Thursday, the Bombay high court directed that an Arbitration Tribunal be set up within 30 days for the settlement of disputes between Essar and Hutchison on the termination of BPL (Mumbai) circle sale deal by the former.
Chadha got 120 votes, the highest in the Asia Pacific group
'How can someone who has never been associated with the movement and never had darshan of Ram Lalla mediate on the matter of temple construction? We have gone to jail for it, faced house arrest and have been fighting court cases. Sri Sri does not qualify to mediate on the matter.'
The world is full of family businesses that withered away with the passing of generations, creating much bitterness and ill will. Entire clans that used to be household names have become pale shadows of their once-mighty empires.
The Pakistani delegation, in its meetings with World Bank officials, insisted on early appointment of the judges and setting up the court.
In 2014, Sun Pharma agreed to buy Ranbaxy -- which was then controlled by Daiichi.
However, survey by Japanese firm shows India as most preferred Asian market for Japanese investors.
Good judges are going away. We need replacements. The younger lot in the bar are not willing to become judges, says the CJI.
While government/PSU procedures focus on piece meal & individual tenders taken on standalone basis, avoiding delays and cost of not doing things becomes a primary consideration in PSC procurement
Unhappy over India's handling of the marine's issue, Italy took the matter to the International Tribunal on Law of the Sea challenging Indian jurisdiction in the case.
News of that transpired on and off the football field
The 0.5 per cent Krishi Kalyan Cess (KKC) on all services increases the total tax chargeable on services to 15 per cent, making it expensive to dine out or travel.
'Modi, with his sharply honed political savvy and undoubted grasp of international affairs, is a past master at taking the measure of world leaders.' 'He would be the last person to think of the unpredictable and not too well-regarded Trump as the mediator,' says B S Raghavan.
Kirloskar Brothers Ltd (KBL), led by Sanjay Kirloskar, on Tuesday accused four firms under his brothers Atul and Rahul of trying to "usurp" its legacy of 130 years and trying to mislead the public, which has been refuted by the other side. As the family feud simmers, KBL in a letter to capital markets regulator Sebi claimed that recent press releases by Kirloskar Oil Engines Ltd (KOEL), Kirloskar Industries Ltd (KIL), Kirloskar Pneumatic Company Ltd (KPCL) and Kirloskar Ferrous Industries Ltd (KFIL) "have sought to usurp the legacy" of KBL. Also, they attempted to pass off the legacy and track record of KBL as that of their own, the letter said.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances