Consider dropping interest on award against antrix. Most of antrix s commercial activities are financed by the government of india. Devas multimedia, others found guilty of illegal foreign investment. The devas multimedia was set up in 2004 by a few former employees of isro and it entered into an agreement with antrix corporation, a governmentowned psu which functions as a commercial arm of isro. As india loses another arbitration case, the ghost of. Is newspace india on the rise while antrix corporation wanes. Antrix corporation limited, the petitioner herein, a government company incorporated under the companies act, 1956, and engaged in the marketing and sale of products and services of the indian space research organization isro, entered into an agreement with the respondent, devas multimedia p. Sc asks devas if it can waive interest on arbitral award of. Isroantrixdevas arbitration fiasco explained views of. The cbi had alleged that the antrix devas sband deal caused wrongful gain of rs 578 crore to devas multimedia pvt ltd and its owners. New delhi, feb 15 pti a special court today granted bail to a former additional secretary. In the antrix devas deal case that had allegedly caused a. Bangalore, july 26, 2016 devas multimedia private ltd.
Antrix, with the support of department of space, is preparing to file in court its application for remedy, antrix statement. The supreme court on friday gave a go ahead to devas multimedia pvt ltd for initiation of arbitration proceedings outside india over cancellation of s band spectrum granted to it by antrix corp ltd, which is the commercial wing of the indian space research organisation isro. Antrix corporation limited acl, bengaluru is a wholly owned government of india company. Debiano wikipedias debian as translated by gramtrans. In its chargesheet, the ed has alleged that devas multimedia transferred 85 per cent. Dec 23, 2017 a delhi court has issued summons to a former director of devas multimedia pvt. Jan 14, 2018 new delhi, jan 14 pti a delhi court has issued summons to a former director of devas multimedia pvt. Much of antrix s leadership is appointed by the government of india. A special court has ordered issue of fresh summons for appearance of two usbased founders of startup firm devas multimedia ltd who are accused of money laundering in a 2005 deal with isro commercial arm antrix corporation. Rs 1,585 crore penalty slapped on devas multimedia it was alleged in an fir that the lease was given in violation of rules, causing an undue gain of rs 578 crore to devas multimedia, and a corresponding loss to the exchequer. In a huge setback to india, the international tribunal in the. Isro officials said they were yet to get details of the development. Special judge santosh snehi mann passed the order after being told that the summons issued earlier could not be severed to muthgadahali gangarudaraiah chandrasekhar. For all the latest india news, download indian express app.
As per the deal, antrix was to provide 70 mhz sband spectrum to devas, which is into multimedia services. In the antrix devas deal case that had allegedly caused a loss of rs 578 crore to the. Special judge santosh snehi mann passed the order after being told that the summons issued earlier. The probe agency had on august 11 last year filed a charge sheet against the accused, alleging they had caused a loss of rs 578 crore to the. In its fir last week, cbi, while naming then executive director of antrix corporation limited r sridhara murthi, two officials of usabased company forge advisors llc, devas multimedia. The antrixdevas multimedia agreement pdf the hindu. In 2005 bangalorebased devas multimedia quite legitimately entered into a contract with antrix whereby antrix would use isro to build and launch two satellites and lease 70 mhz of sband spectrum to devas to offer broadband services across india. Antrixdevas deal under scanner because pmo panicked after. Indian government may have to shell out over a billion dollars in damages to bengalurubased devas multimedia, after an international court of arbitration ruled in favour of the company in case related to cancellation of a contract with antrix corporation, the commercial arm of indian space research organisation. The antrixdevas controversy is shorthand for a 2005 deal when devas multimedia entered into a contract with antrix isros commercial arm wherein the space agency would launch two satellites and provide sband spectrum to allow the telecommunications firm devas to offer higherspeed broadband services across india. Cbi examines former isro chief radhakrishnan in antrix. If the antrixdevas deal was a massive scandal, why are international arbitrations. Whether the new company is a result of antrix corp losing its arbitration case overseas and facing huge payout as damages to devas multimedia for cancellation of contract, is not known. As of tuesday, two international arbitration mechanisms have ruled against the indian government over the way it cancelled a contract between antrix corporation isros commercial arm and telecommunications firm devas multimedia.
District court for the western district of washington. Devas multimedia private limited vs antrix corporation. Cbi files chargesheet in antrixdevas deal, names exisro chief madhavan nair. Antrix was to lease satellite transponders to devas for allowing it to offer digital multimedia services using the sband wavelength spectrum, reserved for strategic purpose. Top officials in the prime ministers office were aware of the progress of the deal between devas multimedia and indias commercial space arm antrix well after the agency claimed it. On tuesday india lost its arbitration case in an international tribunal against bengalurubased devas multimedia private ltd for cancelling its. The charge sheet filed at the designated court here also named former additional secretary in the department of space veena s rao, the then director in isro a bhaskar narayana rao and two directors of devas multi media d venugopal and m umesh. The cbi has filed a chargesheet in antrix devas scam, naming exisro chairman g. Devas multimedia has assembled a worldclass team of management, investors, and directors with expertise in advanced satellite communications and multimedia services. However, the then executive director of antrix signed it on behalf of antrix six months later only after ensuring that chandrashekhar and vishwanathan were majority stakeholders in devas multimedia. The permanent court of arbitration pca tribunal at the. Special judge santosh snehi mann passed the order after being told that the summons issued earlier could not be served to muthgadahali gangarudaraiah. Devas multimedia private limited devas has filed this petition against antrix corporation ltd. Devas today announced that a permanent court of arbitration pca tribunal has found that the government of indias actions in annulling a contract between devas and antrix corporation ltd.
And yet, this exactly what is happening with the continuing fallout of the controversial antrix devas deal. The comptroller and auditor general cag estimated the loss to the exchequer to the tune of rs. Isros antrix to pay rs 4,432 crore damages to devas for. Devas secures right to pursue us enforcement of arbitration award april 17, 2019 devas multimedia pvt. The cbi filed a chargesheet in the case on august 11, 2016, against eight officials from devas, isro and antrix for being party to a criminal conspiracy with an intent to cause undue gain. New delhi, mar 3 pti the supreme court tuesday asked devas multimedia, which had won an arbitral award of usd 672 million from an international tribunal in 2015 against isros antrix corporation, to apprise it whether it was willing to waive interest component on the amount. Cbi said that a deal between antrix and devas was fixed in principle in january 2005 for lease of sband transponders. Isro arm antrix entered into a joint venture with a private company devas multimedia in 2005, and as per the agreement took the liability to fund and launch two satellites for the jv and allocate. Antrix, the commercial arm of isro has moved a local court seeking directions to restrain devas multimedia from proceedings with the arbitration it has filed against it in an international court in paris on cancellation of agreement on. Devas commenced discussions and negotiations in 2003 and consequently entered into a definitive agreement for space segment lease in january 2005 with antrix corporation limited, a wholly owned government of india company under the administrative control of the department of space dos, government of india. Ed investigation followed inputs that devas multimedia had received the funds in violation of fema rules. As india loses another arbitration case, the ghost. Antrix has also claimed that it is fighting devas multimedia s claims in an indian court.
India loses antrixdevas arbitration case, may have to pay. Sc to devas new delhi, march 3 ians the supreme court tuesday asked devas multimedia to let it know if it is willing to waive the interest. Antrix latest news on antrix read breaking news on zee. And yet, this exactly what is happening with the continuing fallout of the controversial antrixdevas deal. Antrix vs devas legal case rages on advanced television. In late 2009, some isro insiders exposed information about the devasantrix deal, and the.
Antrix has also claimed that it is fighting devas multimedias claims in an indian court. Antrix is a 100 per cent government owned public sector undertaking under the control of isro and it functions as the commercial arm of isro. The court award against antrix in the devas case is shocking. Rs 1,585 crore penalty imposed by swarajya staff feb 03 2019, 7. Devas may sublicense, assign or sell any and all of its rights under this agreement without any approval from antrix provided devas provides antrix with at least 60 days prior notice of the same. Aug, 2017 the antrix devas multimedia agreement seeking information on the relevant financial transactions, the cbi has sent judicial requests to mauritius, singapore, france and the u. It was incorporated in september 1992 commercially exploiting isros space products, providing technical consultancy services and transferring technologies developed by indian space research organisation to industry. Antrix had signed a deal with devas in january 2005 to provide it with crucial sband wavelength which is primarily kept for strategic interests of the. The prime ministers office has issued a statement claiming that no decision was taken by the government to allocate space segment using sband spectrum to antrix or devas. The fir was filed on march 16, 2015 against nair and others accusing them of facilitating wrongful gain of rs 578 crore to private multimedia company devas by antrix, the commercial arm of isro. Act for directions to antrix to secure the amount awarded in favour of devas by an award of the arbitral tribunal.
The icc tribunal has ruled in devas multimedias favour in the antrixdevas. Court summons devas multimedia exdirector the court passed the order after it was told that the summons issued earlier could not be served to muthgadahali gangarudaraiah chandrasekhar since he is now settled in the us. An international tribunal has ruled that the indian government unfairly cancelled a contract between devas multimedia and antrix, isros commercial arm. As per the agreement, antrix was to provide 70 mhz of the scarce sband space segment to devas for its digital multimedia services. Antrix would provide the spectrum by leasing out transponders of two satellites to be built mainly for devas. Rs 1,585 crore penalty slapped on devas multimedia. Antrix has no satellites, satellite launch vehicles, transponders, or electromagnetic spectrum of its own, but rather markets assets owned and controlled by isro and dos.
It turned out that devas multimedia was incorporated on december 17, 2004, and the claims were made days later, on january 28, 2005. An international tribunal has ruled that the indian government had acted unfairly and inequitably in annulling a contract between citybased multimedia firm devas and isros. Antrix contends that the city civil court at bangalore has concurrent jurisdiction because the cause of action arose in bangalore and that its. In a setback to new delhi over annulment of the deal between antrix corporation, the commercial arm of indian space research organisation isro, and bengalurubased startup devas multimedia, the permanent court of arbitration pca tribunal at the hague has held the indian government liable to. Antrix has attempted to shake indian telecom firm devas multimedia private ltd. Mar 18, 2015 enforcement directorate was probing the financial transactions in the antrix devas deal which included authenticity of a few mauritiusbased entities who had stakes in devas multimedia pvt ltd. Labouring under the shadow of the 2g scam in 2011, the upa government hastily cancelled a big contract between isros commercial arm antrix corporation, and a bengalurubased telecommunications. In a setback to new delhi over annulment of the deal between antrix corporation, the commercial arm of indian space research organisation isro, and bengalurubased startup devas multimedia, the permanent court of arbitration pca tribunal at the hague has held the indian government liable to pay. Assets worth over rs 79 crore, belonging to devas multimedia private limited, has been attached by the enforcement directorate in connection with its money laundering probe in the antrix devas. Devas has filed this petition against antrix corporation ltd. Antrix shocked over international forum ruling in devas case the cbi alleged that devas had submitted false, wrong and incorrect information claiming that it. Antrix corporation limited acl, bengaluru is a wholly owned government of india company under the administrative control of the department of space. Curious case of the antrixdevas award the statesman.
Antrix shocked over international forum ruling in devas. Devas multimedia, a company headquartered in bangalore, consisting mainly of retired isro scientists and international investors had entered into a deal in 2005 with antrix. Antrix corporation has countered the case filed in the us court by devas. International tribunal asks india to pay damages news desk july 26, 2016 12. I have heard the learned counsel for the parties at length.
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