Pass order on plea within 2 months: NCLAT to NCLT on GE Triveni issues

The National Compamy Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Monday asked the Bengaluru bench of NCLT to make a decision on the arbitration plea, preferably within two months, in the ongoing dispute between the JV partners of GE Triveni Ltd.

A two member NCLAT bench headed by NCLAT Chairman Justice S J Mukhopadhaya also declined to interfere over the order passed by the Bengaluru bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) at this stage.

The Bengaluru bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) had on September 27, 2019 issued notices over the petition filed under Section 45 of the Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996 by two service providers seeking arbitration in the issue.

This was challenged before the NCLAT by Triveni Turbine, which is in dispute with its JV partner General Electric.

"We are not inclined to interfere with the impugned order dated September 27, 2019," said the NCLAT.

It further said that the tribunal is required to decide the interlocutory Applications filed under Section 45 after hearing the parties without being influenced by the order passed by the NCLAT.

"It is expected that the Tribunal will pass such order on the petition under Section 45 of the Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996 after hearing the parties on an early date preferably within two months," it said.

The appellate tribunal also said that it was not looking into allegation and counter allegation by the respective parties in this matter.

"As the allegations and counter allegations and other facts are to be looked into by the Tribunal, we are not deliberating on such issues which are left open to the parties to argue before the Tribunal," said NCLAT.

Earlier on August 27, 2019 in this matter, NCLAT had allowed GE to sell a controlling stake in its step-down subsidiary Baker Hughes LLC after the US firm had assured that it will continue to provide technical and other assistance to their jv company GE Triveni Ltd until its further order.

Triveni Turbine was opposing transferring of GE's shareholding in Baker Hughes as it believes that it would have impact on GETL as it would neither have access to technology nor the marketing assistance.

GETL offers a portfolio of steam turbine products of 30 MW to 100MW in the Industrial Power Generation (IPG) market globally.