For industry captains it was a stinging order. The Supreme Court on Wednesday came down heavily on Reliance Communications (RCom) and its promoter, Anil Ambani, holding the latter in contempt of the court’s orders and sentencing him to three months in jail if he failed to pay Rs 453 crore owed to Ericsson. The four-week window given to Ambani Junior to pay up or go to jail will be closely watched. The order could also give the opposition a chance to attack the Union government. Ericsson had argued that while Ambani had money to invest in the Rafale deal, he had defaulted when it came to paying the telecom company.  

RCom last October had been directed to pay Rs 550 crore by December 15 owed under a contract to Ericsson for operating its network for seven years. When there was no-show again, Ericsson moved a contempt petition. Dismissing Ambani’s arguments that he was not personally liable for the debts of a listed company, the court said he had shown a “cavalier” attitude to the administration of justice. Also rejecting his unconditional apology, the Supreme Court observed that the Reliance companies had no intention of paying up. 

This judgment is also important because it travels beyond Ambani and RCom. The black sheep of corporate India have bent the system in two important ways. Many of them have milked the banks of thousands of crores with no intention of paying back the funds. Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi are only the tip of the iceberg. The collective default suffered by state-run banks exceeds Rs 4 lakh crore. Second, there is the unstated belief that the rich and powerful are more equal than others.

The Supreme Court order will dent these perceptions. Both in the Sahara case, where the company’s chief Subrata Roy was sent to jail, and now with the Ambani ruling, the apex court has done our judicial system proud by holding that everybody, no matter how high, is accountable.