Air India wins nod to appeal against seizure ruling in Canada

New Delhi: Air India has won a nod of an appeals court in Quebec to challenge a Canadian court order that allowed foreign investors in Bengaluru-headquartered Devas Multimedia to seize its funds to recover compensation for a failed 2005 satellite deal with Antrix Corporation, a commercial arm of ISRO.

In a February 11 ruling, Judge Christine Baudouin agreed with Air India that the court should take a closer look at the claim brought by three Mauritius investors and the German major Deutsche Telekom to identify the airline as an alternative to Government of India to facilitate recovery of compensations awarded by international tribunals over the failed satellite deal. "Without expressing an opinion on the merits or on the chances of success in appeal, I am satisfied that the present matter is one that should be submitted to the court," Judge Baudouin wrote in a brief order. She set a hearing in the case for May 13.

Earlier this month, a US federal court for the southern district of New York stayed proceedings to identify Air India as an alter ego of India and to find its assets in the US to facilitate recovery of compensation awarded by international tribunals. The shareholders - CC/Devas (Mauritius) Ltd, Devas Employees Mauritius Pvt Ltd and Telecom Devas Mauritius Ltd - have been targeting government assets abroad to recover a total of USD 1.3 billion compensation they won in three different arbitrations initiated over the nixed deal to deliver communications services throughout India.

They have got an attachment order from a French court for the Indian government's properties in upmarket Paris. On January 8, 2022, they got a ruling from a Superior Court in the Quebec region of Canada to seize 50 per cent of Air India's funds being held by the International Air Transport Authority, a Montreal-based trade association for the world's airlines that facilitates payment of air navigation charges billed to airlines and countries. The same judgment was also cited in the New York court by the Mauritius investors to seek seizures of the carrier's assets in the US to recover compensation over the failed 2005 deal.