

Mint Explainer: How the SAP-Nayara tussle tests India’s strategic autonomy
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.At first, the legal battle between Nayara Energy Ltd—the Indian refiner backed by Russia’s Rosneft—and SAP India appeared to be a conventional contract dispute.However, it quickly raised larger questions around foreign sanctions, India’s technological dependence on multinational software providers, and whether global geopolitical developments could disrupt critical infrastructure operations within the country.After Justice Vikas Mahajan heard both parties, the court recorded its judgement on 30 April.Mint explains the case and why it matters.The dispute started in July 2025, when SAP India Pvt Ltd suspended all critical software support services including SAP ECC support (maintenance for its legacy core business suite), marketplace access, SSCR keys (developer credentials required to modify SAP source code), and expert services.SAP said this was done after the European Union imposed sanctions on Rosneft, the Russian oil refinery that has a 49.13% stake in Nayara.Nayara approached the Delhi High Court in September, saying the suspension blocked access to software critical for refinery operations and regulatory compliance. The company noted it was unable to implement GST 2.0 updates and argued that the disruption "poses a serious risk to India’s sovereignty and public interest", given that its refinery accounts for 8.5% of the nation’s energy production.Nayara argued that SAP was using the European Union trade curbs to not provide services to the energy firm despite its contractual obligations in India.