A High Court injunction restrains Adani Group from initiating any arbitration at Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) until a writ petition challenging its Bangladesh power deal is resolved.
An HC bench comprising Justice Md Bazlur Rahman and Justice Urmee Rahman passed the order of taboo Wednesday after hearing the petition filed by Supreme Court lawyer Barrister Md Abdul Qaium.
Mr Qaium, who appeared in support of the petition, later said since the Indian conglomerate is a contracting party with Bangladesh and also a respondent in the case, it can no longer initiate arbitration proceedings with SIAC.
"It is the responsibility of the Bangladesh government to refrain from participating in the arbitration process. As the High Court has issued an injunction against one party, the government should inform SIAC of the Bangladesh High Court's decision," he says.
The lawyer filed the writ petition last year, and upon hearing on it, the High Court on November 19 in 2024 ordered the government to constitute a high-powered body comprising internationally acclaimed energy and legal experts for preparing a detailed report analyzing all the terms and conditions of the power deals signed with the Indian firm.
The Energy Secretary was asked to constitute the body within one month of the order and the high-powered body was asked to submit its report within two months of its formation.
The High Court also directed the government to submit before it within one month all the proceedings, relevant documents and information related to the bargaining, if any, with Adani Group prior to execution of this agreement.
The Chairman of Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) was asked to submit these documents within 30 days of accepting the court order.
Also, it issued a rule upon the government to show cause as to why the execution of the power deal between Bangladesh and Adani Power (Jharkhand) Limited with "unconscionable unfair unequal terms against the public interest and public policy of Bangladesh shall not be declared illegal".
Barrister Qaium says the Energy Secretary has yet to file the detailed report of the High-Powered Committee.
He notes that while the rule is still pending adjudication before the High Court, national and international media have reported that Adani has initiated a mediation process as a step toward commencing arbitration with SIAC.
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