Install auditor for Singh brothers: Daiichi to HC
Daiichi Sankyo approached Delhi high court on Wednesday for an external auditor to scrutinise assets of former Ranbaxy promoters Malvinder Singh and Shivinder Singh. The application seeks to determine whether the Singh brothers can pay the ~2,562-crore Singapore arbitration award to the Japanese pharmaceutical major.
Wednesday’s move follows Daiichi’s allegations of false asset declarations by Singh brothers in affidavit. Claiming a ~1,500 discrepancy between the affidavit and reports of Singh brothers’ RHC Holding, Daiichi stated that most of the former Ranbaxy promoters’ assets are unrealisable, encumbered (with debt), and of related and unlisted parties. The Japanese company has also mentioned undertakings by Singh brothers that two of their companies (RHC Holding and Oscar Investments) had sufficient funds to pay the arbitration award.
Responding to Daiichi’s latest plea, lawyer Harish Salve, on behalf of Singh brothers, requested the court for a proper hearing before passing any orders. Taking note, the court asked Singh brothers to file their response and listed the matter for April 17.
The court also asked the former Ranbaxy promoters to give a written reply to a Daiichi envelope alleging discrepancy. On March 6, the court had directed Singh brothers to inform the court before parting with any of their debt-free assets. The April 2016 arbitral award, along with a claim of ~1,000 crore in interest and lawyers’ fees, comes after actions by Daiichi against the former Ranbaxy promoters in relation to a 2008 purchase of a majority stake by the Japanese firm in Ranbaxy. The Centre’s power distribution reforms scheme, Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY), has helped discoms reduce their subsidy dependence on state governments owing to improved liquidity position, a report released by the Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) said on Wednesday.
State-owned power distribution companies of Rajasthan, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar have reduced their subsidy, booked as percentage of the revenue, in the range of 5-10 per cent in the current financial year, said REC, a listed navratna public sector enterprise under the ministry of power that monitors UDAY performance.
States like Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Assam, Haryana and Jharkhand reduced power purchase cost up to 35 paise, 16 paise, 12 paise, 10 paise and 8 paise per unit, respectively, in the OctoberDecember quarter of 2016-17, compared to the same period the previous year.
“UDAY is the most comprehensive power sector reform ever planned and executed in the country. It is a classic example of comprehensive, cooperative, collaborative, competitive, consensual and compassionate federalism,” Union power minister Piyush Goyal said. Of the 26 states that have joined UDAY, 15 states have issued bonds against the debt of the discoms that they took over as part of the restructuring. The total amount of bonds issued is ~2.09 lakh crore by the states and ~0.24 lakh crore by the discoms.