By IANS,
New Delhi : Reliance Natural Resources Ltd (RNRL) Tuesday opposed the oil ministry’s plea to the Supreme Court to join the Krishna-Godavari gas dispute as a party and said cross-examination of officials must be allowed if the request is granted.
RNRL counsel Ram Jethmalani, who began his arguments on the lawsuit before a three-judge bench, also questioned the maintainability of the special leave petition filed by the oil ministry and said it was against the rules.
Jethmalani made his observations when Additional Solicitor General Mohan Parasaran was about to begin his submissions on behalf of the oil ministry before the bench of Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, Justice B. Sudershan Reddy and Justice P. Sathasivam.
“If he wants to assist the court as an intervener, I have no objections at all. But if he wants to become a party and place some more documents here, we have strong objections,” said the RNRL counsel.
“I concede the oil ministry’s right to be an intervener but if it files a document, I will exercise my rights to cross-examine it.”
Jethmalani said even earlier, when the matter was being heard in the Bombay High Court, where the judgment was given in favour of RNRL, the government had filed some affidavits as a party, but “ran away” when faced with the prospect of cross-examination.
He contended the ministry of petroleum and natural gas had no right to file the special leave petition, challenging the lower court ruling, adding that it also had absolutely no role in the dispute.
The dispute is over the supply of 28 million units of natural gas for 17 years at $2.34 per unit to Anil-Ambani-led RNRL from the gas fields off the Andhra Pradesh coast, that was awarded to Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL).
The price, tenure and quantity were all based on a family re-organisation pact in 2005, but RIL subsequently said it could only sell the gas for $4.20 per unit, as this was the price, the company claimed, that was fixed by the government.
Additional Solicitor General Parasaran, however, told the Supreme Court that the oil ministry has every right to file the petition, to which Jethmalani said: “Let him have his full say today.”
Parasaran said the gas was a scarce natural resource and a national asset and that the government has full control over it. RIL was merely a contractor and not entitled to sell it to anybody without the government’s approval, he added.
Earlier, RIL counsel Rohington Nariman closed his arguments before the bench and maintained that the courts cannot impose a private family business pact between to promoters on the shareholders.
“The court has to act as an umpire rather than as a bowler or fielder. It only has a supervisory role,” said Nariman.