By Euan Rocha and Jonathan Stampel
Mumbai / New York (Reuters) – According to a United States District Court document overseen by Reuters, Cairn Energy called on India’s major airline, Air India, to implement a $ 1.2 billion arbitration award won in a tariff dispute against Indians. Filed a lawsuit.
The move puts pressure on the Indian government to pay a total of more than $ 1.2 billion in interest and costs that British company Cairn received in an arbitration court in December.
The court ruled that India broke an investment treaty with the United Kingdom and said that the New Delhi government was legally responsible for the payment.
Cairn filed a lawsuit in New York’s Southern District Court on Friday, seeking to make Air India responsible for the lawsuit that won the British company. The argument of the lawsuit is that the airline, as a state company, “is not legally separate from the state”.
The document states, “The nominal difference between India and Air India is misleading and only helps India protect its assets from creditors like Cairn.”
Air India did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
(Additional reporting by Aditi Shah and Aftab Ahmed in New Delhi)
