Sony will continue to arbitrate its case against Zee before the Singapore arbitration tribunal although it is disappointed with the tribunal’s decision allowing Zee to seek remedies from Indian courts after it (Sony) called off the merger between its Indian unit and the Punit Goenka-helmed company. The arbitration is to pursue its right to terminate the merger pact, to claim a termination fee of $90 million and to seek other reliefs.
Sony said, “This decision by the Singapore International Arbitration Centre is only a procedural one, ruling only as to whether Zee would be permitted to pursue its application with the NCLT.” Its application in Singapore was filed under the emergency arbitration procedure, in which a single bench is appointed to hear applications for urgent relief prior to the constitution of the tribunal. Now, the matter will be heard by a full bench.
The Singapore tribunal denied Sony interim relief as it lacked jurisdiction to restrain Zee from approaching the National Company Law Tribunal in Bombay. Sony had requested the tribunal to prevent Zee from seeking remedies from the NCLT or other Indian courts until the arbitration proceedings were concluded.