Anil Ambani group firm RNRL on Saturday questioned the government's locus standi in challenging the Memorandum of Understanding to restructure RIL after a family settlement was reached to divide the business empire between Mukesh and Anil.
"MoU is between the promoters of RIL and Petroleum Ministry is not a party to the same. It has no locus to challenge any part of the MoU," RNRL counsel Mahesh Agarwal said on the petition filed by the government in the Supreme Court seeking to declare the MoU as null and void.
Commenting on the contents of the Petroleum Ministry's petition and prayer, he said RIL as contractor is entitled to sell and deal with its share of gas under the Production Sharing Contract and RNRL's claim is only from that share.
"PSC explicitly permits contractor to sell gas to any person and RNRL has never questioned any of government's rights under PSC," he said.
Asserting its ownership over gas from KG-D6 fields, the government said that the Mukesh and Anil Ambani groups were "surreptiously" appropriating national resources and treating it as their personal and family property.
"(The MoU) should be declared null and void," as it would mean that all the gas from the KG basin would be owned and utilised by RIL and RNRL, the petition said, a day after the Oil Ministry filed an affidavit in connection with cross- appeals by the group firms of the two Ambanis.
{{/usCountry}}"(The MoU) should be declared null and void," as it would mean that all the gas from the KG basin would be owned and utilised by RIL and RNRL, the petition said, a day after the Oil Ministry filed an affidavit in connection with cross- appeals by the group firms of the two Ambanis.
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