‘Tainted motive’: HC rejects plea for FIR against RIL in KG basin gas row

The petitioner had sought a CBI probe against RIL and its chairman and managing director Mukesh Ambani over alleged illegal extraction of gas from wells belonging to the ONGC

MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Friday dismissed a petition seeking registration of a first information report (FIR) and a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe against Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) and its chairman and managing director Mukesh Ambani over alleged illegal extraction of gas from wells belonging to the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) in the Krishna Godavari (KG) basin off the coast of Andhra Pradesh.

‘Tainted motive’: HC rejects plea for FIR against RIL in KG basin gas row

The petition was filed by Jitendra Maru with “a tainted motive” and it represented “an abuse of the process of the court”, a division bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Suman Shyam said.

“A petition like this causes serious harm to the reputation and business prospects of any corporate entity…threatening a present or future business partnership,” the judges said, dismissing Maru’s plea.

According to the petition, under the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP), the central government had permitted RIL to explore the Krishna Godavari basin and produce hydrocarbons from the D6 block. But RIL started tapping gas from ONGC’s adjacent oil wells through sideways drilling, which prompted the oil firm to raise a complaint before the central government.

While RIL maintained that it was within its contractual rights to extract the migratory gas from ONGC wells, a report from M/s De Golyer indicated that the company had tapped and extracted gas from ONGC wells without authority. A committee comprising retired chief justice AP Shah which evaluated the report concluded that the RIL had illegally extracted gas worth $1.55 billion from ONGC wells without paying the quantified amount.

The dispute then moved into arbitration. In July 2018, the tribunal ruled in favour of RIL. The central government challenged the award before the Delhi high court, which upheld the award in May 2023. But another high court bench set aside the ruling in February 2025.

Amid the proceedings, Maru approached the CBI, seeking registration of an FIR for alleged theft and conspiracy. He moved the high court after the agency closed the complaint in September 2025, saying the allegations appeared to be a civil dispute.

RIL contested the plea, arguing that it was “misconceived, devoid of any merit, not maintainable and liable to be dismissed”. Maru had made “irresponsible statements”, and allegations were “just figments of his imagination”, it said.

Rejecting Maru’s plea, the court observed that registration of a criminal case was a very serious matter and entailed drastic consequences to the proposed accused person.

“There is no reason indicated in the writ petition to justify the same,” the bench concluded.