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Supreme Court Orders Status Quo On Bharti Airtel-Tikona Merger

The Supreme Court today ordered status quo on the merger between Bharti Airtel Ltd. and Tikona Digital Networks Ltd. for 15 days.

DoT informed Supreme Court it’s exploring legal recourse against the order to return around Rs 1,600 crore through bank guarantees to Bharti Airtel. (Photographer: Anirudh Saligrama/ BloombergQuint)
DoT informed Supreme Court it’s exploring legal recourse against the order to return around Rs 1,600 crore through bank guarantees to Bharti Airtel. (Photographer: Anirudh Saligrama/ BloombergQuint)

The Supreme Court on Monday ordered status quo on the merger of Bharti Airtel Ltd. and Tikona Digital Networks Ltd. for 15 days.

The order was passed by a bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra after the Department of Telecommunications informed court it’s exploring legal recourse against the order to return around Rs 1,600 crore through bank guarantees to Bharti Airtel.

The department had sought clearance for the Airtel-Tikona merger, following which the telecom operator approached the Telecom Dispute Settlement Appellate Tribunal, which stayed the demand.

The department informed court that it has filed a review petition against the tribunal order and is seeking status quo until the petition is heard.