Settle BPL row through arbitration: HC to Hutch, Essar

MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Thursday directed that an Arbitration Tribunal be set up within 30 days for the settlement of disputes between Essar and Hutchison on the termination of BPL (Mumbai) circle sale deal by the former.

Declining a stay on the plea of Hutchison-Essar on termination of sale deal, the court restrained the Indian corporate house Essar from selling the BPL circle to a third party.

Pronouncing the judgement, the Bombay High Court said that both the parties -- Essar and Associates and Hutchison-Essar can go for an arbitration and the arbitration tribunal should be set up within 30 days from now.

Once the arbitration tribunal is set up in the next four weeks, it should consider and verify whether the injunction order of restraining Essar from selling BPL Mumbai circle to third party is valid.

On August 1, Essar had called off the deal to sell BPL Mumbai Circle to its telecom joint venture Hutchison-Essar citing absence of necessary government approvals.

Although, Essar had offered to return the Rs 1,617 crore taken as deposit in lieu of selling 97.5 per cent stake in BPL's Mumbai circle to Hutchison-Essar, the Bombay High Court had said that the five-day period would start only after court's verdict.

As per the verdict, the five-day period to return the money by Essar would now start only after the Arbitration Tribunal vacates the order restraining Essar from selling the BPL shares to a third party.