The Supreme Court in its verdict, announced today, on the contempt of court plea against Reliance Communications (RCom) has held its Chairman Anil Ambani guilty for not honouring the undertaking. The Swedish telecom equipment manufacturer Ericsson has filed the contempt plea against RCom due to the non-repayment of dues worth Rs. 550 crores.
The apex court has granted four weeks to Reliance Communications Ltd in order to comply with the order and clear the Rs 450 crores dues to Ericsson, failing to which can attract risks of jail term for the chairman of the Reliance Group. Rcom has already deposited Rs. 118 crores with the Supreme Court, which will be handed over to Ericsson.
In addition, the two-judge bench headed by Justice R F Nariman and Justice Vineet Saran said that the undertakings given by the three Reliance companies to pay the dues had lacked the intention to honour it within the 120 days given by the court or the extended time allotted.
The bench ruled that the undertakings were false to the knowledge of the companies and demanded that the three Reliance companies to pay fine of Rs 1 crore each, failing to which will attract a jail term of one month each to Anil Ambani and the two other Directors.
