Daiichi-Fortis: SC asks Singh brothers to clear debt as Shivinder claims he has taken Sanyas

The Supreme Court today directed the former promoters of Fortis Healthcare, Malvinder and Shivinder Singh, to consult each other and come up with a proposal to secure the award passed by a Singaporean Arbitration Tribunal in favour of Daiichi Sankyo.

As directed, the Singh brothers submitted their affidavits and were personally present in the Court pursuant to a previous order.

The younger brother Shivinder submitted that he has renounced the world and taken ‘Sanyas’. However, the Court, while interacting with him, said that the brothers must honour the commitment to pay Daiichi Sankyo.

Calling the Singh brothers the “flagbearers” of the industry, the Court urged them to make the payment of Rs. 3,500 crore.

The Bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna said that it would interact directly with the respondents and take help from the counsel only if required.

The Bench had directed the Singh brothers to be personally present in Court in its previous order passed on February 26 . Daiichi has alleged that the Singh brothers have acted against the Supreme Court’s order which had mandated the maintenance of status quo on the sale of Fortis Healthcare.

In December 2018, the Supreme Court had stayed the sale of Fortis Healthcare to Malaysia’s IHH Healthcare and had directed the parent company of Fortis Healthcare, RHC Holding and Oscar Investment – owned by the Singh brothers – to maintain status quo with respect to the deal. Consequently, IHH Healthcare’s acquisition of stake in Fortis was stayed.

It is Daiichi Sankyo’s case, however, that the Singh brothers have created fresh encumbrances on  1.2 million shares of Fortis, which is in violation of the Court’s order. Daiichi has also alleged that the two brothers have not honoured their “numerous assurances that there will be no fait accompli and their assets will always be available” towards the satisfaction of Daiichi’s Rs 3,500 crore claim.

The dispute between Daiichi and the Singh brothers goes back to an arbitral award passed by a Singaporean Arbitration Tribunal in favour of the former. The Tribunal had found the Singh brothers, Oscar Investments, as well as RHC Holdings guilty on various counts when Daiichi acquired their stake in 2008.

The Tribunal had awarded Daiichi Sankyo Rs 3,500 crore. The Delhi High Court had upheld the enforceability of the award.

Read the Order:

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