In Brief
The Supreme Court held that Reliance Communications Ltd. and its group companies committed contempt of court by giving conditional undertakings to pay INR 550 crore to Ericsson India Pvt. Ltd. The companies had undertaken to pay this amount unconditionally by 30 September 2018 under orders by the NCLAT and Supreme Court. However, on 9 August 2018, they filed conditional undertakings stating payment would be made "upon sale of assets," contrary to the Court's clear directions. The Court found the companies wilfully defaulted and possessed the capacity to pay, as evidenced by their January 2019 letter offering full payment. The Court directed payment of INR 118 crore from deposited funds within one week, INR 453 crore balance within four weeks, imposed INR 1 crore fine per company, and threatened imprisonment of Chairmen for non-compliance. The contempt petition against SBI's Chairman was dismissed as the Ericsson transaction was independent of asset sales.
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