Devas investors win round in $1.3B award fight with India

A London judge has concluded that the application by Devas (Mauritius) Ltd and other investors in the company to join the proceedings was “well founded”, especially since the satellite company has been placed in liquidation in India.

“India, is taking steps both in India and around the world, in other places where the arbitral award has been registered as a judgment, to undo it, so that the award will become ineffective. One particular step is that it (India) has procured an order by the Indian National Company Court to place the claimant in liquidation,” Judge Waksman noted.

He was hearing an application made by Devas Multimedia America Inc, Devas (Mauritius) Ltd, Devas Employees Mauritius Pvt Ltd and Telcom Devas Mauritius Ltd, to join parties to the existing enforcement of the arbitral award.

The London judge’s ruling is of particular significance as only last week Antrix filed a motion in a federal court in Washington to block the attempts of Devas Multimedia’s investors to track down assets and enforce the arbitration award. It said the investors were not judicial creditors and hence were not entitled to post-judgement discovery. Law360