Supreme Court Set to Review ₹500 Crore UAE Court Decree in July Following Mediation Failure

Post by : Bianca Suleiman

The Supreme Court of India is scheduled to review a case in July concerning the enforcement of a UAE court's monetary decree amounting to roughly ₹500 crore, favoring the Ras Al Khaimah Investment Authority (RAKIA) against Nimmagadda Prasad, an industrialist from Hyderabad.

The matter escalated to the court following an unsuccessful mediation attempt overseen by former Chief Justice of India, U U Lalit.

A bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant, with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M. Pancholi, was informed that mediation concluded without reaching a settlement. Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, representing RAKIA, urged the court to hear the case.

The Supreme Court indicated that it won't entertain interim applications currently and will commence a continuous hearing of the principal issue in the second week of July.

Case Background

The contention stems from the “Vanpic Project,” established as a joint venture in 2008 to develop ports and an airport in Andhra Pradesh. RAKIA has alleged that approximately USD 120 million was misappropriated in collaboration with Khater Massaad, a former CEO of RAKIA.

RAKIA is pushing for the enforcement of a UAE civil judgment amounting to 267,941,374 dirhams, translating to around ₹543 crore in principal, or approximately ₹643 crore including accrued interest.

Previous Court Directives and Security Measures

In past hearings, the Supreme Court mandated Nimmagadda Prasad to offer security of ₹600 crore to proceed with his contest against the UAE decree.

In compliance with this directive, Prasad made a cash deposit of ₹125 crore and provided title deeds for a 37-acre land parcel in Telangana. Additionally, he proposed other assets, including shares and properties valued near ₹212 crore, which are adhered to in ongoing proceedings.

The court has specified that the deposited cash should be allocated into a high-interest fixed deposit account under the Supreme Court registry and that the land title documentation must be submitted and confirmed as unencumbered.

Mediation Outcome and Upcoming Hearing

Initially, both involved parties consented to a court-supervised mediation, with Justice U U Lalit appointed to mediate. Unfortunately, this process did not yield any resolution.

As mediation has now failed, the Supreme Court is prepared to hear the case in July on a daily basis.

The interim arrangements regarding the security deposit and asset restrictions will remain contingent on the court's final judgment.

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