Devas-Antrix: US court refuses plea by investors to find ISRO assets

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The Mauritius investors in Devas Multimedia moved the US federal court on February 24 this year to identify ISRO and NSIL as alter egos of Antrix, and for the Indian government to seize their assets in the US to enforce a $ 1.2-billion compensation award made in favour of Devas Multimedia by an International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) on September 14, 2015. The ICC order was confirmed by the US court for the western district of Washington on October 27, 2020.

Denying the plea, the US federal court said it its May 18 order: “Intervenors seek an order from this Court compelling Antrix Corp. Ltd. to supplement its discovery responses with documents held by its alleged “alter egos,” the Indian Space Research Organization (“ISRO”), NewSpace, and the Indian government. Intervenors argue that NewSpace is wholly owned by India and controlled by ISRO. They contend that NewSpace is Antrix’s replacement. Intervenors, however, have not shown that Antrix has actual control over any documents held by these non-parties.”

The court allowed the Mauritius investors to access — on the basis of court orders — documents pertaining to commercial transactions between a US space launch services provider, Spaceflight Inc, and ISRO’s Antrix Corporation.

“Intervenors’ motion to compel document production is granted,” the court ordered. “Non-party Spaceflight, Inc. shall produce documents pursuant to agreed-upon requests for production served pursuant to a subpoena, notwithstanding confidentiality provisions in Spaceflight’s agreements with Antrix.”

Spaceflight Inc uses ISRO rockets, among others, to provide launch services for global clients. The firm signed up in 2019 to be the first user of ISRO’s Small Satellite Launch Vehicle, which is still under development, and facilitated the launch of Brazil’s first satellite in February on ISRO’s workhorse PSLV rocket.