Tag Archives: Devas Multi Media Private Limited

India, SciTech

NCLT admits petition for winding up of Devas

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Newsroom24x7 Network

Bengaluru: Exercising powers conferred on the National Company Law Tribunal, especially under Section 273 and other extant provisions of Companies Act, 2013, under Chapter XX, Part 1, the Bengaluru Bench of NCLT comprising of Rajeswara Rao Vittanala, Member Judicial and Ashutosh Chandra, Member Technical on Wednesday 20 January admitted the Petition by Antrix Corporation, the marketing arm of ISRO, and passed directions pending finalization of winding up of Devas Multimedia Private Limited petition.

The bench also granted time to the petitioner and respondent Devas Multimedia, to file their Replies.

NCLT has appointed the Official Liquidator, Bangalore attached to the High Court of Karnataka at Bangalore, as Provisional Liquidator for the Respondent Company.

NCLT also has directed the existing Management of Devas to extend full cooperation to the Provisional Liquidator to carry out his duties under the extant provisions of Companies Act, 2013.

The Provisional Liquidator has been permitted to initiate appropriate action, in accordance with extant provisions of Companies Act, to take control of Management of Devas and to take custody or control all the property, effects and actionable claims to which Devas is or appears to be entitled to and take such steps and measures, as may be necessary, to protect and preserve the properties of the Company and to avoid misuse of its property.

Further, the Provisional Liquidator, has been directed to strictly adhere to the extant provisions as applicable to the instant case, as mentioned under Chapter XX. Part 1 of Companies Act, 2013 (6).

The NCLT order will be without prejudice to the Parties in the pending litigation before the High Court of Delhi and the Supreme Court of India.

The case has been posted on 8 February, 2021 for further hearing.

The petition by Antrix Corporation Limited states that the then officials’ of Antrix Corporation Limited (‘then officials’ to distinguish them from the Petitioner company and hereinafter referred to as the then officials), including its then Chairman, had executed contract dated 28/01/2005 in favour of the Respondent No. 1 Company, which was ultimately led to its termination by letter dated 25.02.2011, as it was obtained fraudulently in connivance with the then officials. Further, various Statutory Authorities have unearthed the fraud in the executing the Agreement. This fraud has been the subject matter of investigation by two premiere investigation agencies namely, the CBI and Enforcement Directorate (ED). The CBI had filed two charge sheets dated 11.08.2016 and supplementary charge sheet dated 08.01.2019. The ED had issued show-cause notice dated 06.06.2016 and 24.12.2018. Further, the adjudication order dated 30.01.2019 was passed under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, besides initiating PMLA proceedings in O.C. 703 of 2017. When the Ministry of Corporate Affairs had initiated investigation and they were proceeding to issue show cause notices to adjudicate the matter.

Government of India on 18 January had issued notification authorising Rakesh Sasibhushan, Chairman- cum- Managing Director, Antrix Corporation Limited (a Government Company) to present a petition before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for winding up of Devas Multimedia Private Limited on the grounds specified under clause (c) of Sub-section (1) of Section 271 of the Companies Act, 2013 (18 of 2013).

The petition by Antrix states that the then officials of Antrix Corporation Limited, including its then Chairman, had executed contract dated 28/01/2005 in favour of the Respondent No. 1 Company (Dewas), which ultimately led to its termination by letter dated 25.02.2011, as it was obtained fraudulently in connivance with the then officials. Further, various Statutory Authorities have unearthed the fraud in the executing the Agreement. This fraud has been the subject matter of investigation by two premiere investigation agencies namely, the CBI and Enforcement Directorate (ED). The CBI had filed two charge sheets dated 11.08.2016 and supplementary charge sheet dated 08.01.2019. The ED had issued show-cause notice dated 06.06.2016 and 24.12.2018. Further, the adjudication order dated 30.01.2019 was passed under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, besides initiating PMLA proceedings in 2017.

It is further stated in the petition that the Petitioner itself a victim of the fraud and corruption, to which its then Chairman and other officials were party, and on account thereof has suffered an Arbitral Award dated 14.09.2015, passed in Case No. 18051/CYK titled as Devas Multimedia Pvt. Ltd. Vs. Antrix Corporation Ltd. into more than half a billion dollars, which with inter 4/15 to more than a billion dollars today. The Petitioner has preferred an Application before the Hon’ble High Court of Delhi, against the impugned Arbitral Award dated 14.09.2015, and various Criminal and other penal proceedings are presently underway, under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, the Indian Penal Code, 1872, the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (‘PMLA) and the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1997 (“FEMA), against the individuals/entities concerned, including CMD and Directors of the Respondent No. 1 company, as well as the then Secretary to the Government of India in the Department of Space, and other government officials.

Click to download NCLT order

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GoI orders winding up of Devas after a US Court had ordered payment of $1.2 billion compensation

Corruption, Editorial, India, Opinion, SciTech

Vested interests batting for compensation in the Antrix-Devas case

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Lalit Shastri

This 2012 news item says it all….

A news item in a popular section of the media with the title “Vodafone, Antrix/ Devas: When government goes back on commitments made, it scares away investors” is obviously batting for the vested interests – especially with regard to the Antrix-Devas agreement that was abandoned due to alleged criminal offence by those who steered and materialised it.

When it comes to Antrix-Dewas, it is not a case of government going back on any commitment. Its a case of crime, where the CBI has already done its investigation and found enough prima facie evidence to book the accused under multiple Sections of IPC and anti corruption law, including criminal conspiracy.

The Indian government is not bound by any compensation ordered by an American Court, any other court or tribunal. The culprits have to be brought to book and that should be the priority of the Government of India.

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Antrix will be better off ignoring the US Court order for enforcement and payment of $1.2 billion compensation to Devas

Antrix-Devas case and PCA: BIPA with Mauritius needs to be relooked at

CBI files charge sheet against former Secretary of Space and ED of Antrix Corporation

CBI files chargesheet against former Secretary of Space and ED of Antrix Corporation

Antrix-Devas Agreement, national security and CBI

CBI registers case in the huge Antrix-Devas scam

SciTech

Process is on to offer Ka-band services without auction: Is it a backdoor deal?

2 Comments

Lalit Shastri

A few weeks ago an innocuous notice appeared on the ISRO/Department of Space Website. The notice referred to an application dated 1 July 2016 filed by one Jupiter Satellite India Limited for securing an Indian orbital slot at 104 degrees East longitude to provide Ka-band services for broadband beams covering the Indian mainland and Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The notice was put out by CAISS, the Committee for Administration of the Indian Satellite System. To the uninitiated, the notice makes no sense but if one delves deeper it is the making of another Antrix-Devas¹.

Newsroom24x7 did some research. Some years back when the SATCOM Policy (Satellite Communication Policy) was formulated by the Government, it incidentally was not put on ISRO’s website till recently. Under the policy, an operator can set up an Indian satellite system on fulfilling certain conditions. Once a satellite is procured or launched whether from India or abroad, the control station has to be brought inside India within a year and they are subject to Department of Telecom and Ministry Information and Broadcasting norms and control. The orbital slot if procured from another sovereign country has to be transferred to the Indian administration. The operator would thereafter pay royalty and other fees to the Government of India.

It is to be noted that orbital slots are allotted by International Telecommunications Union (ITU) to countries and not companies. ITU is the United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technologies – ICTs. This body allocates global radio spectrum and satellite orbits. Now here lies the catch. The orbital slot has been applied by India which has priority. In many countries, the orbital slots are auctioned off to satellite operators for a finite period to operate their services. In the case of Jupiter, a company registered with the Registrar of Companies in India, the matter has been hanging before 2016 and its application had been rejected by the Government.

Ka-band is a new band opening for high speed Internet services and ISRO plans to put in orbit the GSAT 11 which has developed a glitch before launch from Kourou, French Guiana. The already launched GSAT 19 is still to get its gateways and ground stations in place. This part of the business is highly lucrative and in Jupiter’s favour as they have their systems ready though the launch and operationalisation is perhaps a few years away.

According to available information, a procession of bureaucrats, technocrats and ex-chairmen of ISRO did not touch  application in question even with a barge pole. Jupiter, which has links with Hughes of the USA, then began lobbying and there was tremendous pressure from officials in Department of Telecom and at other places to grant the approval. After initiating the process for according in-principle approval, the application has been put on the website for objections. The Prime Minister perhaps was never apprised of this issue. In the Antrix-Devas deal an orbital slot in S-band was given in the most opaque manner. The latest oblique move smacks of the same reasoning. An expression of interest should have been first put out enumerating the available slots followed by an auction as decreed by the Supreme Court. Otherwise, it smacks of a back-door deal. Will the PMO please take note and have this  matter examined independently threadbare?

¹ Antrix Corporation Limited is a Public Sector Undertaking and is an arm of the Department of Space, Government of India. It had entered into a commercial contract on January 28, 2005 with Devas Multi Media Private Limited for lifetime lease of 90 per cent capacity of S Band Transponder of 2 satellites, built by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) [GSAT – 6 and 6A]. However, after the signing of the agreement, it was realised by the Government of India that the Antrix–Devas lease agreement on GSAT-6 and 6A would take away most of the total S band spectrum available and subsequently the CBI after conducting an investigation registered an FIR in the Antrix-Devas scam.

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Corruption, India

CBI files chargesheet against former Secretary of Space and ED of Antrix Corporation

4 Comments

Newsroom24x7 Staff

antrix-devas newsNew Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation today filed a chargesheet in the Court of Special Judge, CBI cases at the Patiala House Courts in the capital against G Madhavan Nair, ex-Secretary, Department of Space and Chairman, ISRO & Antrix, K. R. Sridhara Murthi, former Executive Director of Antrix Corporation Ltd, the then Managing Director of USA based company and President & CEO of a Bangalore based Private Multimedia Company; three of its ex-Directors, and then Additional Secretary, Department of Space; then Director, SCPO, ISRO under Section 120-B r/w 420 of IPC and Section 13(2) read with 13(1)(d) of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 & substantive offences for allegedly being party to a criminal conspiracy with an intent to cause undue gain to themselves or others by abusing official positions (by public servants) and causing loss to Antrix Corporation Ltd and ISRO by lease of INSAT Transponders capacity on GSAT 6 & 6A satellites to the accused Bangalore based Private Multimedia Company.

A case was registered on 16 March 2015 against the then Executive Director, Antrix Corporation Limited, Bengaluru; two Advisors of USA-based company; Bengaluru based private multi media company and other unknown officials of Antrix Corporation Limited /Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO)/Department of Space (DoS). It was alleged that during the period from 2004 to 2011 then Executive Director Antrix Corporation Ltd in criminal conspiracy with both Advisors of USA based company and others gave rights for delivery of Video, Multimedia and Information Services to Mobile receivers in vehicles & mobile phones via S-Band through GSAT-6 & GSAT-6A Satellites and Terrestrial systems in India, to ineligible company based at Bangalore in violation of the laid down guidelines pertaining to leasing of INSAT capacity. Consequently, alleged loss of Rs. 578 crore was caused to Government Exchequer.

Further investigation is continuing regarding issues of demand of S-Band frequencies by other users including Ministry of Defence for strategic purpose & DoT; DVB-SH Technology developed by ETSI and the affairs of USA based company, FDI received and funds transferred from the accounts of Bangalore based private company into the foreign accounts and offences under criminal breach of trust by public servants.

Also read:

 antrix-devas-news-lalit-shastri
https://newsroom24x7.com/2015/03/20/antrix-devas-agreement-national-security-and-cbi/

CBI registers case in the huge Antrix-Devas scam