Reliance Industries (RIL) has filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court (SC) opposing the grant of interim relief to Reliance Natural Resources (RNRL). Meanwhile, the government has sought to be a respondent in the case.

Here is a verbatim transcript of Nayantara Rai’s comments on CNBC-TV18. Also see the accompanying video.

RIL in its affidavit today in the Supreme Court has said that RNRLs interim relief should not be granted as it would lead to a lot of injury to the company. RNRL had requested for the first 40 mmscmd of gas in the KG D6 block. They wanted the Supreme Court to direct RIL to not to supply gas to any third party other than RNRL. It had also asked the Supreme Court to restrain RIL from signing any more gas supply agreements and had also asked the court to direct RIL to give immediate gas supply to RNRL.

RIL has objected quite strongly to all this and said as of now RNRL has no plant that can receive the gas from the D6 block. It goes on to say that RNRL will have no power plant which can receive this gas at least for another three years. It goes on the say that the family MoU as well as the Bombay High Court had not allowed trading of gas to the third party. So, what does RNRL need this gas for? Once again it maintains its stand that it cannot provide any gas to RNRL until the government gives its approval to do so. According to the production sharing contract or according to the gas utilization policy, they cannot give gas to RNRL for a period of 17 years at USD 2.34 per mmbtu.

On the government’s stance:

When RIL had filed its Special Leave Petition in the Supreme Court, it had mentioned the Government of India via the Ministry of Petroleum as a non-contesting respondent cum intervener. But we understand that the Registrar at the Supreme Court had objected this and then the government was made an intervener in this case.

We understand from our sources in the Supreme Court as well as the government that once again the government today tried to file as a respondent and once again the registrar objected to it. So, the final certified objected copy of the government has been that of an intervener. The government has said in its petition and the government has made it very clear that it has a lot of stake in this case.

As far as the gas is concerned, it says gas is a natural property and belongs to the government till the delivery point. So, it is very clear that the gas belongs to the government. The production sharing contract as well as the gas utilization policy is sacrosanct and cannot be comprised with. The price of USD 4.2 per mmBtu was right at an arms length relationship when Reliance in 2006 and 2007 had approached the government to sell gas to RNRL at a valuation of USD 2.34 per mmBtu. The government had rejected it and has continued to reject it, so it has rejected that price once before and will stick with the government with a price of approval of USD 4.2 per mmBtu. It has asked the government as in intervener to stay the Bombay High Court judgment because that infringes the sovereign rights of the government as far as the natural gas is concerned.