SC to hear Ambani brothers' dispute

Anil Ambani group company Reliance Infocom Infrastructure has moved the Supreme Court seeking to recover more than Rs 58 crore of outstanding loan from a Mukesh Ambani group firm.

Reliance Infocom Infrastructure, in its petition, alleged that Madhuban Merchandise Pvt Ltd (MMPL) had failed to repay more than Rs 58 crore out of Rs 233.85 crore advanced to it in 1999. The matter will come up for hearing in the second week of July.

Challenging the Bombay High Court judgement that dismissed its winding up petition against MMPL in February this year, Reliance Infocom said that the Mumbai-based MMPL had raised "a false, unsubstantiated and untenable defence" as it did not intend to repay dues.

It has sought a stay on the High Court judgement and a direction to the High Court to appoint a provisional liquidator.

While Reliance had advanced Rs 233.85 crore unsecured loan to MMPL in August 1999, the latter had repaid Rs 150 crore loan till November 2006, according to the petition.

MMPL had been giving an evasive reply with a malafide intent to delay the repayment saying that it was agreed between the parties that the outstanding amount would be set out or stand settled on transfer of certain shares to the Anil Ambani group in February, it said.

It added that after MMPL ceased to be a subsidiary of Reliance Infocom in August 2005, the latter had transferred its shareholding in the company to Soumya Finance & leasing Company Pvt Ltd.

The petitioner said that the High Court had failed to appreciate that MMPL had created false defence without any supporting documents.