Devas to continue fight for Air India’s assets

Lawyers write to U.S. Court claiming Air India will remain India’s ‘alter ego’ even after sale to Tatas

Shareholders in Devas have written to a U.S. District Court asserting that Air India’s sale to the Tatas did not impact its petition seeking seizure of the airline’s assets to recover the arbitration award it won against the Indian government. They have also claimed that the Tatas could be liable for damages.

Dated November 15, the letter follows AI’s supplemental letter where the airline has underlined that its forthcoming privatisation weakens the merit of the enforcement action sought by Devas. Air India (AI) has also demanded a stay on discovery pending its forthcoming motion seeking dismissal of Devas’s petition.

“Air India is incorrect. India’s sale of Air India will not moot this case... will not impair — much less destroy — the Court’s ability to grant Plaintiffs effective relief,” law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher contended in the letter. In June 2021, Devas Shareholders had filed a petition in a New York court seeking to seize AI assets in the U.S. as reparation for India’s failure to pay the satellite firm. The letter said Devas’s shareholders hold an arbitral award of more than $111 million against India under the India-Mauritius Bilateral Investment Treaty.