Bombay HC notice on plea for CBI probe into RIL's $1.55 bn ONGC gas theft

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday issued a notice on a petition that sought an investigation into Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) and its Chairman Mukesh Ambani for stealing natural gas worth over $1.55 billion from the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), according to a report by LiveLaw.

 

The petition was filed by Jitendra P Maru, who requested the court to order the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to take action against RIL and its directors. According to the report, a division bench of Justices AS Gadkari and Ranjitsinha Raja Bhonsale issued notices to the CBI and the Union of India. The petition is set to be heard on November 18.

 

What does the petition seek?

The petition sought registration of a criminal case against RIL and its directors for theft, dishonest misappropriation, and breach of trust. Moreover, the petitioner requested that all relevant documents, including contracts, investigation reports, and the A P Shah Committee’s findings, be seized. 

RIL involved in 'massive fraud'

The petition said that RIL was involved in a "massive organised fraud" between 2004 and 2013-14. It added that the company drilled sideways from its own deep-sea wells into nearby ONGC wells in the Krishna Godavari Basin, illegally extracting natural gas that originally belonged to ONGC.

 

The petition further added that ONGC officials discovered the unauthorised extraction in 2013, after which the company informed the government about the issue.

What did Reliance say?

In its defence, RIL said that the gas was "migratory", meaning it naturally moved between blocks, giving the company the right to extract it.  According to LiveLaw, an independent investigation carried out by De Golyer and MacNaughton (D&M) confirmed that RIL had indeed tapped gas from ONGC’s wells without authorisation. Later, the A P Shah Committee also found that RIL had extracted gas worth more than $1.55 billion, with an additional $174.9 million in interest.

RIL received arbitral award in its favour

Earlier, RIL had received an Arbitral Award in its favour in its dispute with ONGC. However, in February, the Delhi High Court Division Bench allowed the Union of India’s appeal and set aside the arbitral award. The court stated that the award went against public policy, thereby overturning the previous ruling that had favoured Reliance.