In a major relief to Shoppers' Stop, the Supreme Court today cleared the decks for its Rs 150 crore initial public offering (IPO) by blocking a stay order issued by the Guwahati High Court.Sounding an omnibus warning to all fora against passing any interim order on the issue, a bench comprising Justice N Santosh Hegde and Justice S B Sinha said: "In the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case, the interest of justice will be met only by stay of the impugned order."The relief came on the petition filed by the company challenging yesterday's order of the Shillong bench of the Guwahati High Court restraining market regulator Sebi from opening the IPO today. The petition before the high court was filed by an organisation called North East Investors Forum (NEIF).Shoppers' Stop, through senior advocate R F Nariman, alleged that the litigation before the High Court was filed with a "mischievous" motive a day before the IPO was to open."The petitioner apprehends that the entire litigation, which is being initiated at Shillong, is at the behest of Gopal L Raheja and has been filed at a place which is not easily accessible to curcumvent the caveats filed by the company in other parts of the country," the company said.Saying that the High Court order has caused a lot of inconvenience to the company, the petition said: "Shoppers' Stop has already deposited Rs 30 crore on April 25 towards promoters contribution as per the legal requirements."The apex court, while staying the interim order of the High Court, issued notices to NEIF, Sebi and and the central government.
