The Calcutta High Court today held that The Chatterjee Group, in its tussle with the West Bengal government over control of 155 million shares of Haldia Petrochemicals Limited (HPL), could not seek arbitration at the ICC in Paris as the matter has been decided in Company Law proceedings here.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Arun Mishra and Justice Joymalyo Bagchi held that the claims being made by TCG before the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), Paris was also claimed by it in Company Law proceedings in which the Supreme Court had held against TCG on merits.
The division bench observed that TCG could not claim the same relief again in arbitration.
The bench also held that the arbitration agreement between the TCG and the state government stood abandoned and the TCG's claims were no longer 'live'.
Delivering the verdict on the appeal by TCG, the bench held that the trial court did have jurisdiction to hear the suit and to decide on the validity and existence of an arbitration agreement.
The TCG has been locked in legal battle with the state government since 2005 over control of the now ailing HPL, once a showcase petrochemical industry of West Bengal, when the TCG moved the Company Law Board against the West Bengal government and West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) over controlling shareholding and management control of HPL.
