Ericsson Case: SC holds Anil Ambani guilty of contempt, to be jailed for 3 months if fails to pay Rs 453 crore

The contempt plea has been filed against Anil Ambani, Reliance Telecom chairman Satish Seth, Reliance Infratel chairperson Chhaya Virani and SBI chairman.

A bench of Justices RF Nariman and Vineet Saran on February 13 had reserved its judgement when Ericsson India had alleged that the Reliance Group has money to invest in the Rafale jet deal, but they were unable to clear its Rs. 550-crore dues, a charge which was vehemently denied by the Anil Ambani-led company./ AFP IMAGE

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday pronounced its verdict on three contempt applications filed by Telecom equipment maker Ericsson against Reliance Group chairman Anil Ambani and others for not clearing dues. In its judgment, the apex court said the Reliance Communication chairman Anil Ambani and two directors guilty of contempt of court on a contempt plea filed by Ericsson India against him over not clearing its dues of Rs 550 crores. The court also said that any unconditional apology given by Reliance needs to be rejected as they have breached the undertaking and order. The contempt plea has been filed against Anil Ambani, Reliance Telecom chairman Satish Seth, Reliance Infratel chairperson Chhaya Virani and SBI chairman. A bench of Justices RF Nariman and Vineet Saran on February 13 had reserved its judgement when Ericsson India had alleged that the Reliance Group has money to invest in the Rafale jet deal, but they were unable to clear its Rs. 550-crore dues, a charge which was vehemently denied by the Anil Ambani-led company. Anil Ambani told the top court that with the failure of its assets sale deal with elder brother Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio, his company has entered insolvency proceedings and is not in control of the funds. Reliance Communications (RCom) had told the court they had tried to move "heaven and earth" to ensure Ericsson gets its due but was unable to do so due to failure of assets sale deal with Reliance Jio. The court on October 23 asked RCom to clear the dues by December 15, 2018, saying delayed payment would attract an interest of 12 per cent per annum. The plea by Ericsson had sought that the court direct Anil Ambani and the lenders forum to hand over the Rs. 550 crore with interest from sale proceeds as per the October 23 order.