Detain Anil Ambani in Civil Prison till dues are cleared, Ericsson moves second contempt plea in Supreme Court

A second contempt petition has been filed by Ericsson (Applicant) against Anil Ambani and Reliance Communications for alleged violation of the orders passed by the Supreme Court of India..In the petition filed through advocate Bhargava V Desai and settled by Senior Advocate Dushyant Dave, the Applicant has prayed that Anil Ambani, who is the Chairperson of Reliance Communications, be detained in civil prison till the dues of Rs. 550 crores along with interest are cleared..Reliance had filed a writ petition in Supreme Court in July 2018 praying for a direction to give effect to the settlement arrived at between the parties and for ensuring certainty of the sale process..On August 3, the Supreme Court had ordered that the payment of Rs. 550 crore be made on or before September 30. In view of the same, the Court had permitted the sale of assets..Subsequently, Reliance sought an extension of time for making the payment which was allowed by the Supreme Court. On October 23, the Court said that as a “last opportunity”, it will allow Reliance to make the payment of Rs. 550 crore along with interest before December 15, 2018..Before the expiry of the said date, Reliance once again filed an application for extension of the deadline but the same was withdrawn on December 14 after it realized that the Court was not inclined to entertain the application..Ericsson has now sought initiation of contempt proceedings for violation of the Supreme Court orders of August 3 and October 23..“The breach on the part of the Respondent in failing to comply with the orders and paying up the amount of Rs. 550 crore to the Applicants is clearly willful, contumacious and persistent.”.On the filing of the writ petition itself, the applicant has stated that it was mischievous and an attempt to misguide the court because it was filed after the NCLAT recorded compromise and passed an order on May 30 even though there was no occasion or cause of action to file a writ petition..“Hence, the writ petition was to get out of compromise and to seek extensions without intention to pay.”.The respondents got away by persuading the Supreme Court to permit the sale of assets without the rigours of the conditions imposed by NCLAT in its May 30 order, the applicant states..The contempt petition now states that the orders of the court were categorical and clear requiring Reliance Communications to pay a sum of Rs. 550 crore by September 30..The entire machinations carried out by the respondents was to defeat the due process under the IBC and prevent legitimate dues of creditors being paid off..“The Writ Petition has been used to perpetuate a fraud”, the contempt petition states..The Applicant prays for initiation of contempt proceedings against Anil Ambani and other office bearers for violation of the Court’s orders and the undertaking given by them to the Court..The application also prays for direction to be issued to Lender Forums/ Banks to bring the amount of Rs. 550 crore received from the sale of assets and hand it over to Ericsson..Importantly, the petition seeks a direction to be issued to refrain Anil Ambani and Chairpersons of Reliance Communication, Reliance Telecom, and Reliance Infratel from traveling abroad. The petition also prays that they be detained in civil prison till the dues to Ericsson are cleared..Read the petition below.