SBI moves Supreme Court seeking Reliance Communications asset sale completion

The Rs 25,000-crore deal, according to the bank, is necessary for recovery of dues of secured lenders. While RCom owes around Rs 45,000 crore to as many as 35 banks, the total outstanding to SBI as on February 28, 2018 is Rs 4,027 crore.

SBI’s appeal comes a day after RCom moved the apex court against an arbitration tribunal interim order that stalled its efforts to complete the deal with RJio. RCom also wants SC to set aside the Bombay HC’s order that dismissed its appeal against the tribunal’s interim order. Swedish telecom equipment maker Ericsson, which is claiming Rs 1,012 crore of arrears from RCom, had moved the tribunal, which on March 5 had restrained the telco from “transferring, alienating, encumbrance or disposing off any of its assets” without prior permission.

RCom wants to complete the deal, announced on December 28, to sell most of its spectrum, fibre, towers and switching nodes to RJio as it needs the money to repay 35 lenders, failing which they may move the National Company Law Tribunal to initiate insolvency proceedings against the telco.

Equipment supplier Ericsson, being an unsecured creditor, cannot lay claim over the assets, which are charged to the secured creditors, unless the entire dues of the secured creditors are paid, SBI stated in its appeal. “Hence the impugned order restraining the secured creditor from liquidating its dues by sale of secured assets is unjustified and hence liable to be set aside,” the SBI said in its appeal filed through counsel Sanjay Kapur. Even RCom has taken a similar plea that secured creditors, such as banks, rank above unsecured vendors like Ericsson in any debt resolution plan.

SBI said that it is directly affected by the impugned orders that have resulted in stalling the entire process of recovery of dues of secured lenders. It alleged that the arbitration Tribunal for the purpose of protecting the dues of an unsecured creditor has jeopardised the interest of secured creditors which includes public sector banks. And even the HC without considering the proposed sale of assets of RCom and its affiliate group companies — Reliance Infratel and Reliance Telecom — was being conducted at the instance of the secured lenders, dismissed the petitions by RCom and its two subsidiaries, thereby jeopardising the interest of the secured creditors.

RInfra moves HC for execution of arbitration award to subsidiary

Reliance Infrastructure on Tuesday said it has moved the Delhi HC seeking execution of the arbitration award its subsidiary — Delhi Airport Metro Express (DAMEPL) — had won against Delhi Metro Rail Corporation. RInfra said DAMEPL is paying Rs 65 lakh per day as interest, amounting to Rs 20 crore per month, to the lenders to service its debt.

The arbitration award was recently upheld by a single-judge bench of the Delhi High Court.