The Bombay High Court has directed Hutchison and its joint venture partner Essar to settle their dispute through an arbitration tribunal or come to an out-of-court settlement. Though the court has rejected Hutchison Essar Limited’s (HEL) plea for termination of the share purchase agreement signed with the Essar Group for acquisition of its stake in BPL Mobile, HEL has received DoT’s approval to merge with BPL Mobile Communications Limited (BMCL). The latter will bolster Hutchison’s legal case against the Essar Group since Essar had cited non-receipt of DoT’s approval by the July 31 deadline as the key reason for terminating the agreement. In order to keep the DoT application for merger valid, the Essar Group will not act on the BMCL sale termination notice to HEL.
