AFTER Cairn Energy, Devas Multimedia has sued Air India in a US court to recover over $1.2 billion (£869 million) it won in international arbitration awards against the Indian government.
Devas called the flagship airline an “alter ego" of the Indian state, therefore liable for the sovereign’s debts.
In the petition, it asked the airline to pay the arbitration amount or forfeit its US property including planes, cargo handling equipment and artwork.
Last month, Cairn Energy filed a lawsuit in a US court, demanding the airline to pay a $1.26 billion (£905 million) arbitration award. It had won the arbitration against the Indian government last year.
The British company is also planning to target other overseas assets of state-owned firms and banks to recover the amount due from the Indian government.
The lawsuits filed by Cairn Energy and Devas Multimedia may complicate India’s efforts to sell the loss-making airline.
The dispute between the Indian government and Devas goes back to 2011.
Back then, the Indian government cancelled the Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) contract with Devas to lease satellite space after discovering irregularities in the deal.
Devas shareholders said, the cancellation of contract hurt the value of their multi-million dollar investments in Devas and led to multiple arbitration awards, including one by the International Chamber of Commerce.
In November, India’s top court halted implementation of the $1.2bn (£869m) award after the country’s attorney general K.K. Venugopal denied possibility of a settlement saying Indian authorities have “discovered a serious fraud in the entire series of transactions leading up to the disputes including the arbitration agreement."
Meanwhile, lawyers of Devas had denied these allegations.
