A day after the ruling of the Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)’s arbitration body International Court of Arbitration had asked Antrix, the commercial arm of ISRO, to pay damages worth $672 million to Bengaluru based Devas Multimedia for “unlawfully” terminating the deal, citing national security, the Antrix has said they would move the court for remedy.
A brief statement issued in Bengaluru on Wednesday by Antrix Corporation said, “The ICC award against Antrix in the Devas case is shocking. Antrix, with the support of Department of Space, is preparing to file in court its application for remedy.”
Describing as “shocking” an international tribunal ruling asking it to pay damages worth $672 million (Rs4,432 crore) to Devas Multimedia for scrapping a deal four years ago, ISRO’s commercial arm — Antrix Corporation also said it was preparing to file in court its application for “remedy”.
According to Devas, the Tribunal, in a unanimous decision, has awarded damages and pre-award interest totalling $672 million to it with post-award interest accruing at 18 per cent per annum on that sum until the award is fully paid.
In its findings, the tribunal had noted that Antrix had no legal justification for terminating the agreement and that KR Radhakrishnan, who at the time of annulment, was Secretary, Department of Space and Chairman of ISRO, Antrix and the Space Commission, could have prevented the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) from approving the annulment.
The CCS had annulled the deal on the ground that it was not in the security interests of the country. The UPA’s action had come months after the Comptroller and Auditor General of India came out with a report on 2G scam that had estimated a “presumptive loss” of Rs1.76 lakh crore due to flawed spectrum allocation process.
Under the deal signed in 2005, Antrix was to provide 70 MHz of the scarce S-Band wavelength to Devas for its digital multimedia services by leasing 90 per cent of the transponders in ISRO’s GSAT-6 and GSAT-6A satellites. Devas, in turn, was to pay Antrix a total of USD 300 million over 12 years. The award will come up for hearing in the Delhi High Court, which has to enforce it.
In a jolt to ISRO’s commercial arm, Antrix, an international tribunal has asked it to pay damages worth USD 672 million (Rs4,432 crore) to city-based firm Devas Multimedia for “unlawfully” terminating a deal four years ago on grounds of national security.
“Devas Multimedia and its shareholders, including highly-regarded international investors, are pleased that the ICC Tribunal unanimously ruled in its favor and found that Antrix is liable for unlawfully terminating the Devas-Antrix Agreement in February 2011,” Devas had said in the statement.