Tata Sons on Monday has filed an application in the London's Commercial Court to set aside an ex-parte order obtained by NTT DoCoMo on July 25, 2016 from the UK court.
DoCoMo had sought enforcement of a London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) arbitration award dated June 22, made in the dispute between Tata Sons and DoCoMo. The issue relates to DoCoMo’s shareholding in the telecom operator Tata Teleservices Ltd (TTSL).
Tata Sons' stance is that it is not permitted to pay the sum claimed by DoCoMo pursuant to the award, following a denial by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The regulator’s approval is necessary for the award, Tata Sons said in a statement.
Furthermore, in the absence of such approval, enforcement of the award would be unlawful under applicable Indian law and contrary to public policy, it added.
DoCoMo had also earlier initiated enforcement proceedings in India.
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On July 30, 2016, Tata Sons had deposited the entire $1.17 billion claimed by DoCoMo with the Court Registrar, High Court of Delhi, while it has also filed its objections.
On Sunday, Tata Sons said it has been disappointed with the lack of co-operation from DoCoMo in arriving at an amicable resolution by jointly engaging with the Indian Government and the regulator on the issue.
“DoCoMo is unfortunately confusing Tata Sons’ intent to pay with what is legally payable by the company; Tata Sons’ intent is to pay but within the confines of the law,” it added.
The London court had asked Tatas to pay $1.17 billion to the Japanese major as compensation. The dispute dates back to January 2015, when NTT DoCoMo moved the London Court of International Arbitration against Tata Sons for failing to find a buyer for its stake in TTSL.
In April 2014, NTT DoCoMo announced plans to sell its entire stake in TTSL, exiting India five years after entering the country. The exit came after the Indian company failed to achieve certain performance targets.
Under the terms of the shareholder agreement, Tata Sons had to find a buyer by December 2014, failing which it had to buy the DoCoMo stake.