'We are in trouble': Future tells SC all accounts frozen, 374 stores with them

Debt-ridden Future Retail Ltd on Friday told the Supreme Court that all their accounts are frozen and 374 stores are still with them and not with Reliance Industries, which had earlier exercised an abrupt takeover of FRL's stores.

Senior advocate Harish Salve, appearing for FRL, said around "374 shops are with the group and it is not going to give them to anybody on its own unless some landlords throw it out," adding, "We are in trouble and no one is ready to touch me with a bargepole."

Over months, Reliance had taken over the leases of more than 900 of Future's 1,500 stores, while still allowing the company to run them.

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During the hearing, the Supreme Court asked whether it can pass any interim order on a plea of Amazon that Future Retail Ltd's assets including ’Big Bazaar shops’ not be alienated till the dispute over it’s merger with Reliance Retail is decided by the arbitral tribunal.

A bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana, which has now posted the plea of US e-commerce major for further hearing on April 4, said the landlords of the FRL’s shops are not before it and the question is if such an order restraining the alienation of assets till conclusion of arbitration can be passed.

The bench was also told by senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for lending banks of Future group, that no interim order, which is prejudicial to the interests of the banks, be passed in the matter. "Any order of passed should be without prejudice to the rights of the banks. We are not party to the Arbitration but we are affected directly," the bench added.

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Amazon and Future group are engaged in multi-forum litigation on the issue of FRL's merger deal to the tune of Rs 24,500 crore with Reliance Retail Ltd after the US e-commerce giant dragged FRL to arbitration at the Singapore International Arbitration Centre in October 2020.

It has been alleged by Amazon that on March 3, as many as 600 stores of FRL were taken away by Reliance.

The plea was vehemently objected to by the Future group lawyers on Tuesday.

The top court was told by Amazon that besides seeking resumption of arbitral proceedings, it wanted an order so that the FRL's assets are there for it if it wins the arbitration as the ''applecart was being upset''.

The bench is hearing Amazon's appeal against the January 5 order of the Delhi High Court, which stayed the arbitration proceedings before the arbitral tribunal over Future Retail's merger deal with Reliance Retail.

(With inputs from Aneesha Mathur and agencies)