Dutch court junks Devas Multimedia plea in relief for Antrix

A Dutch court upheld the liquidation orders of Devas Multimedia America Inc (DMAI), a subsidiary of parent company Devas Multimedia, by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and the subsequent orders of the NCLAT and Supreme Court of India upholding the tribunal’s liquidation order in a big relief for Isro’s commercial arm Antrix.

In a judgement that came on Tuesday, the preliminary injunction judge H J Vetter of the Dutch court rejected the request of the Bengaluru-based company to enforce the ICC (international tribunal) judgment — which awarded $1. 2 billion compensation to Devas for a failed satellite deal with Antrix in 2005, as per a report on the ToI.

The judge said, “It follows from all the foregoing that the liquidation judgment can be recognised in the Netherlands. This means the Dutch courtmust assume that Devas has gone into liquidation and that a liquidator is in office. It is not in dispute between the parties that under Indian law in case of liquidation, the appointed liquidator is exclusively authorised to act on behalf of the liquidated company, in this case Devas. ”


The judge further ruled, “. . . Those considerations must be read in light of the NCLT’s opinion and the Supreme Court that, in short, there was fraud in the Devas agreement and are understandable in that light. ”

The court also ordered DMAI to pay the costs of the legal proceedings to Antrix and Newspace (NSIL) within 14 days of the order.

Chinmoy Roy, senior legal officer of Antrix, told TOI, “After the Indian court ruling in our favour, this Dutch court order is another welcoming victory. ”

In 2005, Antrix signed a deal with Devas to build two communication satellites, which were to use the S-band spectrum and offer hybrid satellite and terrestrial communication services throughout India.

Early in 2011, some media reports alleged that Antrix had offered the S-band at a throwaway cost, and that a few senior officials in the company as well as in Isro had benefited monetarily from it.

The deal soon became engulfed in a political storm. Subsequently, a panel led by senior aerospace scientist Roddam Narsimha found only procedural lapses in the deal and no evidence of corruption.

In 2012, the then UPA government cancelled the satellite order citing national security issues. Following this, Devas went to the international tribunal claiming damages of $1.6 billion for scrapping the deal. Devas also subsequently appealed in the US federal court saying its investors as well as senior executives were US nationals.