HC notice to Chidambaram in damages suit filed by 63 moons

The Bombay High Court has issued notices to former finance minister P Chidambaram and two serving bureaucrats in connection with a suit demanding Rs 10,000 crore in damages filed by 63 moons technologies, formerly known as Financial Technologies Ltd.

The high court asked them to remain present in person or through their lawyers on October 15 "to answer the plaintiff's claim".

The company filed the suit on June 12 before the high court against Congress leader Chidambaram and bureaucrats K P Krishnan and Ramesh Abhishek, accusing them of taking "malicious and malafide" action against it.

The high court issued the notices against them on July 24.

"You (defendants) are hereby summoned to appear before the concerned judge to answer the plaintiff's claim on October 15, 2019, either in person or through an advocate," the order by court registry said.

"Take notice that on the day mentioned before, after the parties appear, hearing will be given by the concerned judge as to the date of trial and other matters concerning the suit," it said.

63 moons has filed the suit against Chidambaram, Krishnan, Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development, and Ramesh Abhishek, then Chairman of Forward Market Commission (FMC) and now outgoing Secretary, Department for Industrial Policy and Promotion.

It alleged that the company was facing continuous "targeted and malafide actions" in the wake of an engineered payment default crisis at one of its subsidiaries, the National Spot Exchange Ltd (NSEL).

According to the suit, there is no money trail traced to NSEL, 63 moons and its founder Jignesh Shah by multiple investigative agencies.

However, the group was targeted as part of a "conspiracy" by Chidambaram, Krishnan and Abhishek, the suit alleged.