RIL calls family MoU worthless; criticises Govt on gas policy

Reliance Industries termed as worthless the MoU signed by its Chairman Mukesh Ambani and his brother Anil and told the Supreme Court that the government "unreasonably" snatched its freedom to market gas.

Reliance Industries on Thursday termed as worthless the MoU signed by its Chairman Mukesh Ambani and his brother Anil and told the Supreme Court that the government "unreasonably" snatched its freedom to market gas.

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On the third straight day of hearing on the gas supply dispute between group firms of the two brothers, the Bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan asked if the MoU, signed in 2005 for dividing Reliance's assets including gas, was placed before RIL shareholders.

To this, RIL senior counsel Harish Salve said the MoU was not placed before shareholders, board or creditors and that it was more of a private family arrangement rather than a company arrangement.

"The MoU is not worth the paper on which it is written as far as RIL is concerned," he said.

RIL also came down heavily on the government for snatching away its marketing and pricing freedom, saying: "We had assumed marketing freedom when we divided gas in 60:40 ratio between the two groups (in the GSMA signed in 2006)".

Referring to the government, in 2007, giving itself the power to approve price and fix consumers for gas, Salve said: "Government approval of price is an unreasonable clause".

He said RIL had vehemently protested against the government taking away its freedom, whereas Anil Ambani group had sought regulation of fuel sale through a gas utilisation policy in 2007.