Act on KG basin report, Delhi HC tells central govt
New Delhi:
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
high court on Thursday ordered the Centre to act on recommendations of the expert panel set up to examine ONGC's allegation that Reliance Industries siphoned off gas from its well in the Krishna-Godavari basin.
Disposing of the petition filed by the PSU, where it has accused RIL of “deliberately disgorging“ natural gas worth `30,000 crore from its well in the Krishna-Godavari basin, the court directed the Centre to take a decision within six months of receiving the expert panel's report. In case it failed to do so, ONGC could revive the petition by approaching the court again, Justice R S Endlaw said.
The PSU had raised the apprehension that if the expert panel ruled in its favour, the Centre may not proceed against RIL. It also pointed out that the Centre had issued a circular banning PSUs from approaching courts without the ministry's nod.
The HC then permitted advocate Prashant Bhushan and a former bureaucrat, who have intervened in the matter, to approach it if no action was taken by the government after receiving the report. The court clarified that its direction would not dilute the government's circular. It directed the parties involved in the matter to cooperate with independent agency , US-based DeGolyer and MacNaughton, which is examining the allegations.
RIL contended that the petition could be disposed of since ONGC's plea for appointing an expert independent panel to examine its claim had already been addressed. It said that the true picture could be ascertained only after the panel's report, which is expected to be out by October 8, and thus there was no need to keep the petition pending till then.
`Rel ADAG set up front firms to fund Swan'
The CBI on Thursday told a special court that Reliance ADAG chairman Anil Ambani and his wife Tina Ambani were involved in the transactions of Swan Capital Pvt Ltd, which later became Swan Telecom Pvt Ltd, an accused in the 2G scam. TNN
