Rs 23k Crore deal failed with Mukesh: says Anil Ambani

Anil Ambani told the Supreme Court that despite his best efforts deal to sell his debt-ridden Reliance Communications assets to Mukesh Ambani has failed.

Anil Ambani, who is facing contempt proceedings for his failure to comply with the SC’s order to pay Swedish telecom company Ericsson Rs 550 crore, was personally present in the court and remained standing in the jam-packed room for two and a half hours.

Although the Ambani brothers had agreed on the transaction, they differed on the question of who would be responsible for RCom’s liabilities, including the spectrum usage charge payable to the centre.

Senior advocates Mukul Rohatgi and Kapil Sibal, appearing for RCom, told a bench of justices RF Nariman and Vineet Saran that the money to repay Ericsson could not be raised because of the company’s failure to sell its assets.

However, Senior advocate Dushyant Dave, appearing for Ericsson mentioned, It was never said by them that money would be paid out of the deal.

As the hearing remained inconclusive and adjourned, the court asked Ambani and other officials of RCom to be present in the court on Wednesday. The SC had in December asked the government to clear RCom’s airwaves sale to Jio within seven days, once group company Reliance Realty submitted a surely towards future financial commitments.