Ambani appears in court in connection with contempt cases filed by Ericsson

RCom, through senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Mukul Rohatgi, had attempted to resolve the situation in court by offering a part payment of Rs 118 crore as outstanding dues owed to Ericsson

New Delhi: Relating to the matter concerning contempt notices filed by Ericsson India against Reliance Communication Ltd (RCom) over non-payment of dues, chairman Anil Ambani made his appearance in the Supreme Court on Tuesday. RCom, through senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Mukul Rohatgi, had attempted to resolve the situation in SC by offering a part payment of Rs 118 crore as outstanding dues owed to Ericsson.

Part payment refused

RCom said the part payment was done to prove the company's bona fides but the counsel appearing for Ericsson declined the payment, insisting that the debt-laden operator pay the entire dues of Rs 550 crore at once.

Justice RF Nariman had led a bench to issue the contempt petition at the last hearing and sought his response on this inside four weeks. Calling Ambani for a personal explanation, the bench directed his company to deposit the demand draft of Rs 118 crore in the registry. The court then declined to give Ambani exemption from personally appearing in court.

Ericsson India filed 3 contempt petitions

Over the settlement amount of Rs 550 crore, the Anil Ambani-led company previously missed two deadlines stipulated by the court on September 30 and December 15. This led to Ericsson filing its first two contempt cases, demanding that RCom be driven into insolvency.

When RCom opted to file for bankruptcy in a dedicated insolvency court to resolve its debts by selling its assets, the gear maker filed its third contempt petition.