Microsoft restores services to Russia-backed Nayara Energy ahead of HC hearing

Microsoft Corp has restored all services - including email access - to Russian oil giant Rosneft-backed Nayara Energy, just before a scheduled hearing in the Delhi High Court over the service suspension, sources said.

Earlier this week, Microsoft suspended its services to Nayara Energy after the European Union included the company in a new round of sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine war. In response, Nayara took the US tech giant to the Delhi High Court, which was scheduled to hear the matter on Wednesday.

However, sources familiar with the situation said that prior to the hearing, Microsoft reinstated full access to email, Microsoft Teams, and other services for Nayara.


A Microsoft spokesperson confirmed restoration of Nayara services.

"Microsoft is committed to supporting all its customers in India and worldwide, and has restored services for Nayara Energy. We are engaged in ongoing discussions with the European Union towards service continuity for the organization," the spokesperson said.

Nayara had called the action by Microsoft unilateral. "Nayara Energy has initiated legal proceedings against Microsoft following the abrupt and unilateral suspension of critical services. Microsoft is currently restricting Nayara Energy's access to its own data, proprietary tools, and products - despite these being acquired under fully paid-up licences," the company had said in a statement on July 28.

Rosneft owns a 49.13 per cent stake in Nayara Energy Ltd, formerly Essar Oil Ltd. Nayara owns and operates a 20 million tonnes per year oil refinery at Vadinar in Gujarat and runs over 6,750 petrol pumps across the country.

An investment consortium SPV, Kesani Enterprises Company, holds another 49.13 per cent stake in Nayara. Kesani is owned by Russia's United Capital Partners (UCP) and Hara Capital Sarl, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mareterra Group Holding (formerly Genera Group Holding S.p.A.).

"This decision, based solely on Microsoft's unilateral interpretation of recent European Union (EU) sanctions, sets a dangerous precedent for corporate overreach and raises serious concerns regarding its implications on India's energy ecosystem," Nayara had said.

The firm had said it has filed a petition before the High Court of Delhi seeking an interim injunction and resumption of services to safeguard its rights and ensure continued access to essential digital infrastructure.

"These steps are aimed at preventing any potential disruption to Nayara's ability to meet its obligations to Indian consumers and stakeholders," it had said.

Nayara believes that while the sanctions originate exclusively from the EU, Microsoft - a US-headquartered corporation - choose to withdraw services from the company without any legal requirement to do so under US or Indian law.

"This action has been taken unilaterally, without prior notice, consultation or recourse, and under the guise of compliance. Such moves signal a worrying trend of global corporations extending foreign legal frameworks into jurisdictions where they have no applicability," it had said.

Nayara accounts for about 8 per cent of the country's total refining capacity and 7 per cent of its retail petrol pump network.