The comptroller and auditor general cag estimated the loss to the exchequer to the tune of rs. Most of antrix s commercial activities are financed by the government of india. Antrix, the commercial arm of isro, could be buried in penalties any day now due to its scrapped deal with devas multimedia. An international tribunal has ruled that the indian government unfairly cancelled a contract between devas multimedia and antrix, isros commercial arm. Cbi said that a deal between antrix and devas was fixed in principle in january 2005 for lease of sband transponders. Devas multimedia private limited vs antrix corporation. 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. 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. Under the agreement, antrix provided bandwidth facilities in two proposed satellites for services in the digital media and broadcasting by devas.
Devas entered into a publicprivate partnership with antrix corporation antrix, a psu and commercial arm of the government of indias department of space dosindian space research organization isro, to create a unique, worldclass national system that leverages the distinctive capabilities of both organisations. 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. District court for the western district of washington. 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. Act for directions to antrix to secure the amount awarded in favour of devas by an award of the arbitral tribunal. 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 has also claimed that it is fighting devas multimedias claims in an indian court. 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. 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. Jan 14, 2018 new delhi, jan 14 pti a delhi court has issued summons to a former director of devas multimedia pvt.
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. In late 2009, some isro insiders exposed information about the devasantrix deal, and the. As per the deal, antrix was to provide 70 mhz sband spectrum to devas, which is into multimedia services. Cbi files chargesheet in antrixdevas deal, names exisro chief madhavan nair.
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. 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. Devas multimedia, others found guilty of illegal foreign investment. Debiano wikipedias debian as translated by gramtrans. In the antrix devas deal case that had allegedly caused a loss of rs 578 crore to the. Antrix has also claimed that it is fighting devas multimedia s claims in an indian court.
In my opinion in the present petition, certain questions have arisen, which would have farreaching consequences with regard to the scope and ambit of the powers of this court under section 116 of the arbitration and conciliation act, 1996 the act, for short and the powers of icc to constitute the arbitral tribunal. Rs 1,585 crore penalty imposed by swarajya staff feb 03 2019, 7. Antrix corporation limited acl, bengaluru is a wholly owned government of india company. For all the latest india news, download indian express app. Antrix has attempted to shake indian telecom firm devas multimedia private ltd.
Devas multimedia has assembled a worldclass team of management, investors, and directors with expertise in advanced satellite communications and multimedia services. 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. And yet, this exactly what is happening with the continuing fallout of the controversial antrix devas deal. India loses antrixdevas arbitration case, may have to pay. Antrix would provide the spectrum by leasing out transponders of two satellites to be built mainly for devas. Devas multimedia private limited devas has filed this petition against antrix corporation ltd. Dec 23, 2017 a delhi court has issued summons to a former director of devas multimedia pvt.
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. As per the agreement, antrix was to provide 70 mhz of the scarce sband space segment to devas for its digital multimedia services. Antrix, with the support of department of space, is preparing to file in court its application for remedy, antrix statement. Isros antrix to pay rs 4,432 crore damages to devas for. 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. 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. The antrixdevas multimedia agreement pdf the hindu. Antrix latest news on antrix read breaking news on zee. The permanent court of arbitration pca tribunal at the. 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. Antrix corporation limited acl, bengaluru is a wholly owned government of india company under the administrative control of the department of space.
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. 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. As india loses another arbitration case, the ghost. 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. Ed investigation followed inputs that devas multimedia had received the funds in violation of fema rules. Special judge santosh snehi mann passed the order after being told that the summons issued earlier could not be severed to muthgadahali gangarudaraiah chandrasekhar. 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. Antrix contends that the city civil court at bangalore has concurrent jurisdiction because the cause of action arose in bangalore and that its. Cbi examines former isro chief radhakrishnan in antrix. New delhi, jan 14 pti a delhi court has issued summons to a former director of devas multimedia pvt. 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. 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. Antrix vs devas legal case rages on advanced television. The cbi has filed a chargesheet in antrix devas scam, naming exisro chairman g.
Isroantrixdevas arbitration fiasco explained views of. 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. Is newspace india on the rise while antrix corporation wanes. On tuesday india lost its arbitration case in an international tribunal against bengalurubased devas multimedia private ltd for cancelling its. 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. Curious case of the antrixdevas award the statesman. 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. Rs 1,585 crore penalty slapped on devas multimedia. In a huge setback to india, the international tribunal in the. 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. 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.
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. 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. Consider dropping interest on award against antrix. The court award against antrix in the devas case is shocking. 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. I have heard the learned counsel for the parties at length. 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. 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. 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.
It turned out that devas multimedia was incorporated on december 17, 2004, and the claims were made days later, on january 28, 2005. Devas has filed this petition against antrix corporation ltd. If the antrixdevas deal was a massive scandal, why are international arbitrations. 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. Antrix shocked over international forum ruling in devas case the cbi alleged that devas had submitted false, wrong and incorrect information claiming that it. Under the deal signed in 2005, antrix was to provide 70 mhz of the scarce sband wavelength to devas for its digital multimedia services by leasing 90 percent of the transponders in isros gsat6.
The icc tribunal has ruled in devas multimedias favour in the antrixdevas. International tribunal asks india to pay damages news desk july 26, 2016 12. Special judge santosh snehi mann passed the order after being told that the summons issued earlier. 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. New delhi, feb 15 pti a special court today granted bail to a former additional secretary. Bangalore, july 26, 2016 devas multimedia private ltd. 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.
Antrixdevas deal under scanner because pmo panicked after. The cbi filed the corruption case over the 2005 devas multimedia antrix corporation deal for isro to launch two satellites for devas in march 2015. In the antrix devas deal case that had allegedly caused a. And yet, this exactly what is happening with the continuing fallout of the controversial antrixdevas deal. 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. A delhi court has issued summons to a former director of devas multimedia pvt. Devas secures right to pursue us enforcement of arbitration award april 17, 2019 devas multimedia pvt. Antrix corporation has countered the case filed in the us court by devas. In its chargesheet, the ed has alleged that devas multimedia transferred 85 per cent. 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. Much of antrix s leadership is appointed by the government of india. 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. 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.
1194 411 940 692 402 369 1315 82 1260 1299 288 955 842 864 520 1308 113 737 294 910 1260 1500 563 1043 1391 992 1059 724 374 1051 889 135 1147 231 997 164 265 219 754 135 566 580 1287