In a jolt to ISRO’s commercial arm, Antrix, an international tribunal has asked it to pay damages worth USD 672 million (Rs 4,432 crore) to city-based firm Devas Multimedia for “unlawfully” terminating a deal four years ago on grounds of national security.
The International Chamber of Commerce’s (ICC) arbitration body, the International Court of Arbitration, has ruled in Devas’ favour in the Antrix-Devas arbitration case. Antrix is liable to pay damages of USD 672 million to the company.
Devas Multimedia and its shareholders, including highly-regarded international investors, are pleased that the ICC Tribunal unanimously ruled in its favour and found that Antrix is liable for unlawfully terminating the Devas-Antrix Agreement in February 2011.
— Devas Multimedia
The tribunal awarded damages and pre-award interest of USD 672 million to Devas with post-award interest accruing at 18 per cent per annum on that sum until the award is fully paid.
The tribunal noted that Antrix had no legal justification for terminating the agreement. At the time of the annulment, Dr KR Radhakrishnan was Secretary of the Department of Space and Chairman of ISRO, Antrix and the Space Commission. He could have prevented the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) from approving the annulment.
Under the deal signed in 2005, Antrix was to provide 70 MHz of the scarce S-Band wavelength to Devas for its digital multimedia services by leasing 90 per cent of the transponders in ISRO’s GSAT-6 and GSAT-6A satellites. Devas, in turn, was to pay Antrix a total of USD 300 million over 12 years.
ISRO Chairman AS Kiran Kumar, when asked for his comments said, “Our legal team is looking into it.”
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