The legal battle between e-commerce major Amazon and Reliance Industries (RIL) would continue unabated, even after the latter had expressed its inability to go ahead with the 24,713-crore deal.

“The issue is not closed. Now the legal fight would continue as RIL has taken control of Future Group’s retail stores, despite the emergency arbitrator ruling to maintain status quo,” a lawyer close to the development told FE.

The lawyer was referring to Singapore’s Emergency Arbitrator’s order in October 2020 restraining Future Retail (FRL) from executing the deal, till the legal issues are settled. Amazon is of the view that RIL taking control of Future Group’s stores is a breach of this ruling, as it has to maintain “status quo”.

The case, which came up for hearing before the Delhi High Court on Monday, was adjourned for Thursday.

In February, Reliance Retail, a subsidiary of Reliance Retail Ventures (RRVL), took control of 947-odd shops of Future Retail and Future Lifestyle Fashions with plans to rebrand them across various categories under Reliance Digital, Reliance Smart and Reliance Fresh (groceries), and Reliance Trends (clothes and accessories).

RRVL, a wholly-owned subsidiary of RIL, took over the stores after Future Retail defaulted on dues worth Rs 3,494.56 crore in December 2021 and on another `5,322 crore scheduled on March 31, 2022.

In August 2020, RIL had sealed a deal to acquire the retail business of Future Group for Rs 24,713 crore, which was opposed by American retail major Amazon, citing a 2019 non-compete agreement between Amazon and Future Group. The case is now being heard across forums including the Supreme Court, Delhi Court, National Company Law Tribunals and Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC).

However, the deal is entangled in a legal tussle after the US e-commerce major Amazon opposed the scheme, citing the 2019 agreement it had entered into with Future Group. Amazon, which acquired a 49% stake in Future Coupons, the promoter entity of Future Retail, for about Rs 1,500 crore, alleged violation of certain terms in the deal signed in 2019.

On Saturday, RIL expressed its inability to acquire Future Group’s businesses, as secured creditors of FRL have voted against the scheme. With RIL withdrawing from the deal, the option before the lenders was to move the NCLT to recover their debts, industry sources said.

Meanwhile, a bankruptcy petition against Future Group moved by Bank of India before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) is slated to come up for hearing this week, lawyers said.