The International Court of Justice has decided against Antrix Corp in an international arbitration case and asked it to pay $562.50 million in damages to Devas Multimedia Pvt Ltd, for canceling the deal to offer internet services using satellites.

The arbitration panel – chaired by Dr Michael Pryles at Singapore –said that Antrix Corp had “ no legal justification for terminating the contract” it had with with Devas Multimedia, according to the order that was announced on September 14. The order is not final as yet. It will now have to be confirmed by the Delhi High Court when it comes for hearing on Wednesday.

Apart from the damages Antrix Corp, the marketing arm of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), will also have to pay 3% interest above LIBOR from the date of cancellation of the deal – February 25, 2011 until September 14, 2015, the day of the order. Over and above this, Antrix Corp will pay 18% annual interest on the amount until it settles the damages finally, according to a note on the arbitration award, seen by The Financial Express.

Devas Multimedia president and chief executive Ram Viswanthan, in a statement said, with the arbitration coming to an end, he hoped that the dispute which arose about four years ago, “can now be finally closed”.

In brief, Devas Multimedia is an Indian company backed by Germany’s Deutsche Telekom AG and two other US-based investors – Columbia Capital, and Telcom Ventures. The Bangalore-based company, founded in 2004, had signed a deal with Antrix Corp, a subsidiary of Indian Space Research Organisation to develop and launch internet services using satellite technology.

In February 2011, when allocation of spectrum for mobile phone companies were being probed, Devas also came under scanner for getting spectrum through ISRO for the project. The then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, had announced on television that the deal had been called off with Devas. Few days later, the government put out a statement saying the spectrum given to Devas Multimedia was to be utilized for civilian use including for railways, and the deal has been terminated.

Deutche Telekom and the two investors then served a notice to the Indian government saying their investments were in jeopardy and claimed $3 billion in damages. The hearings in the dispute at the International Court of Justice, involving Columbia Capital, and Telcom Ventures, were concluded in September 2014. India has sought to disqualify one of the members on the arbitration panel, and the plea was dismissed by the President of the International Court of Justice. A decision on the jurisdiction of the dispute is expected in the next few months.

In the third arbitration, between Deutsche Telekom and the government, under the India-Germany treaty, the arbitration panel will begin hearing oral arguments from April 2016.