Supreme Court Stays Arbitration Proceedings Initiated By Former Indian Cricket Team Captain MS Dhoni Against Amrapali Group

Earlier this week, the Supreme Court put on hold the arbitration proceedings initiated by the former Indian cricket team captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni against the Amrapali group of companies.A bench comprising Justices UU Lalit and Bela M Trivedi, handling the issues related to the real estate properties of Amrapali group which was put under a Court receiver in 2019, passed the order take note of the difficulties expressed by Senior Advocate R Venkataramani, the Receiver, in representing the group in the arbitration proceeedings.Dhoni had filed an arbitration petition in the Delhi High Court in 2019 against the Amrapali Group. Retired Delhi High Court Judge, Justice Veena Birbal was appointed as the sole Arbitrator in Dhoni's matter.The Bench was informed by the court-appointed receiver about the pending arbitration proceedings between Dhoni and the defunct real estate firms and the difficulties posed to him in pursuing it."Learned Court Receiver submits that with the object of securing the interest of the flat buyers, this Court took cognizance of these matters and was pleased to appoint Court Receiver to see that the construction is completed well within time and the allotment of apartments happens at the earliest. In his submission, it would be extremely difficult for the Receiver to defend and take care of such arbitral proceedings."The bench then noted that the interest of the Amrapali homebuyers has to be secured and the erstwhile management of the Amrapali Group cannot be expected to represent the cause of the homebuyers in the arbitration proceedings."At the same time, it cannot be accepted that the erstwhile management or anybody else can represent the cause of Amrapali Group of Companies before the learned Arbitrators. In the circumstances, some workable arrangements will have to be arrived at whereunder the claims made by the flat buyers are first satisfied and only thereafter the interest of the Amrapali Group of Companies on other fronts is looked into."A bench of justices UU Lalit and Bela M Trivedi, while issuing notice to Dhoni observed, "At this stage, we request the arbitrators to hold their hand till the matter is disposed of by this court".The court also directed that copies of the said order be circulated to the arbitrator.In what was a huge relief to Amrapali home buyers then, the Supreme Court, in 2019, cancelled the registration of Amrapali group under Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act 2016, and directed the National Building Construction Corporation take over its pending construction projects in Greater Noida and Noida. The Court had also directed the Enforcement Directorate to initiate action under Prevention of Money Laundering Act and Foreign Exchange Management Act against Amrapali directors and authorities, and update the Court with progress of the probe with periodic reports.In the same year, Dhoni had moved the Supreme Court seeking protection of his ownership rights on an over 5,500-square feet penthouse he booked 10 year ago in a project of embattled Amrapali Group. Dhoni filed an application in the court through his lawyer, after receiving a notice from apex court-appointed forensic auditors seeking clarification on certain aspects of the purchase. The auditors appointed by the Supreme Court to look into Amrapali group's dealings have observed that the maligned real-estate giant "illegally diverted" the hard-earned money of over 49,000 home-buyers to Rhiti Sports Management Pvt Ltd, an entity in which the cricketer holds major stakes. The auditors' report specifically stated that Rhiti Sports received Rs 42.22 crores between 2009 and 2015, which found a mention in the Supreme Court's order in 2019.Click Here To Read/Download Order

Supreme Court Stays Arbitration Proceedings Initiated By Former Indian Cricket Team Captain MS Dhoni Against Amrapali Group

Rintu Mariam Biju

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