Arbitral tribunal rejects ZEEL subsidiary's claims against RailTel

Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd and its subsidiary have lost their claims in the arbitration against PSU RailTel Corporation of India. ZEEL on November 26 said its subsidiary, Margo Networks Private Ltd, faced a setback as the Arbitral Tribunal rejected their claims against Navratna PSU Railtel Corporation of India Ltd.

The claims pertained to the alleged wrongful termination of a Content on Demand Agreement and the forfeiture of funds by Railtel. The company had entered into a content-on-demand contract with RailTel Corporation of India for providing media content in all Wi-Fi-enabled railway stations. RailTel terminated the contract in November 2021.

The Tribunal also dismissed the counterclaims filed by Railtel in the same arbitration proceedings.

"Pursuant to Regulation 30 of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015 and in continuation to our earlier disclosure dated August 22, 2023 wherein it was informed that the Company and Margo Networks Private Limited ('Margo') a subsidiary of the Company, have initiated arbitration proceedings against wrongful termination of the Content on Demand Agreement by the Railtel Corporation of India Limited (‘Railtel’) and claimed the amounts wrongfuly forfeited by Railtel alongwith cost/damages. This is to inform you that the Arbitral Tribunal vide its Arbitral Award has rejected the said claims filed by the Company and Margo against Railtel. Further, the Arbitral Tribunal has also rejected the counter claims made by Railtel," the company said in a regulatory filing.

It added, "The Company is evaluating the option of filing an application/appeal before the appropriate Court for setting aside of the Arbitral Award."