Vedanta wins case for $499 mn award claim; SC rejects govt plea

Court rejects government's petition, which had said that billionaire Anil Agarwal's company, along with Videocon Industries Ltd., is entitled to recover only $198.5 million

The Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that Vedanta Ltd. is entitled to recover a $499 million arbitration award from the central government for developing oil and gas fields in Rajasthan.

The court rejected the government’s petition, which had said that billionaire Anil Agarwal’s company, along with Videocon Industries Ltd., is entitled to recover only $198.5 million as agreed in the production-sharing contract for the Ravva oil and gas fields.

Cairn India Ltd., which was later acquired by Vedanta, had in 2011 won an arbitration award in Malaysia for higher recoveries and sought its enforcement in India. The company won a case for enforcement in a high court but the federal government appealed in the country’s top court saying the claim was against the Indian law.

The top court said it can’t re-examine evidence recorded by a foreign arbitration tribunal and the enforcement of the award in favor of Vedanta won’t be contrary to India’s public policy, as claimed by the federal government.