Financial
Technologies India Limited (FTIL), now 63
moons technologies chaired by Jignesh Shah has approached the Supreme
Court. The forced merger of NSEL with FTIL which was upheld by the Bombay High
Court has been contested by the company at the apex court. Scheduled for 16th
February, the special leave petition (SLP) will be admitted in the court. This
is the last of 12 weeks given to the company to move to the court.
A
spokesperson stated in a mail, “Our chairman Mr. Venkat Chary had said earlier
that we will be moving the Supreme Court before the expiry of the 12-week stay
period granted by the Bombay high court on the merger order. Accordingly, we
have moved the Supreme Court and filed the SLP. We have full faith in the
judiciary and continue to believe that the truth and justice shall prevail.”
The
National Spot Exchange Limited (NSEL)
which was suspended from the market from trading in 2013. Erstwhile promoted by
Jignesh Shah’s FTIL, the merger was initiated by the Ministry of Corporate
Affairs (MCA).
Justice
M. S. Sonak affirmed that the merger is not forced since NSEL was a wholly
owned subsidiary and these two entities are not entirely unrelated. Current
chairman Mr. Venkat Chary, however, has argued that this will be the end of the
‘Limited Liability’ concept. The order was upheld in public interest according
to the court. According to the statement by the judge, the government deemed
the companies fit for merger owing to the extraordinary case of a collapse of
the stock exchange.
If
the order goes through, it will be the first time in India when two private
companies will be merged in public interest under the Companies Act. A verdict
in favour of the MCA’s merger order will mean that FTIL will have to assume
responsibility for the payment default that amounts to Rs. 5600 crore. It is,
however, unclear if that would be correct since no involvement by Jignesh Shah
or his company has been found in the case.
