Within hours of getting an arbitration notice from Reliance Infrastructure seeking damages of Rs 5,440 cr, SKIL Infrastructure has counter sued the Anil Ambani Group firm for a higher amount.
The infrastructure company, the former promoter of Pipavav Defence, also denied the charges made by Reliance Infrastructure on Monday.
In a statement, Reliance Infrastructure had claimed that the former shareholders of Pipavav Defence and Engineering, including SKIL and its promoters, had committed breach of warranties given as part of the 2015 agreement between them and Reliance Infrastructure for the purchase of Pipavav shares.
Reliance Infrastructure had purchased an 18% stake in Pipavav Defence in March 2015 for Rs 819 cr. The shipbuilding company was later renamed to Reliance Defence.
In its statement, Reliance Infrastructure did not clarify the nature of the guarantee that the former promoters of Pipavav had allegedly violated.
In a statement on the issue, SKIL denied that it had violated the terms of the agreement.
“The company has denied any breach of the said terms & conditions of the PA (purchase agreement) and has decided to effectively defend itself during the process of arbitration,” it said.
It also said it was slapping Reliance Infrastructure and Reliance Defence Systems Pvt Ltd with a notice for ‘breach of purchase agreement dated 4 March 2015″ and demanded Rs 8,130 cr.
It said it would initiate arbitration if the amount was not paid by the Anil Ambani Group.
Pipavav Shipyard is one of the largest such facilities in the private sector in India and was established as a wholly owned subsidiary of SKIL Infrastructure in 1997 at Pipavav, Gujarat.
It was the first corporate shipyard to be granted clearance to build warships and other vessels for the Indian Navy.