SC clears way for Reliance Power IPO, for now

The Supreme Court stays in the interim, proceedings in the Gujarat High Court against Reliance Power's IPO that is slated to open on January 15.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday stayed in the interim, proceedings in the Gujarat High Court against Reliance Power's IPO that is slated to open on January 15.

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While ordering a stay on the hearing of a PIL filed by a Rajkot-based NGO 'Grahak Suraksha Mandal', which sought to prevent the company from going public, a bench headed by the Chief Justice KG Balakrishnan also issued notice to the NGO after Reliance Power alleged that the PIL was motivated.

Senior Advocate Harish Salve, who mentioned the petition before the Bench, accused the NGO of waging corporate war at various fora and said that the Grahak Mandal had earlier taken the issue before the Bombay High Court and SEBI.

He contended that the High Court was to take up the PIL filed against the company today and if the apex court did not interfere then similar petitions would be filed all over the country to "blackmail" the company, which was coming out with an IPO.

"The PIL by Grahak Mandal in Gujarat High Court is motivated and it is just a blackmail strategy on its part as we are coming with our IPO on January 15," Salve said.

He said the IPO cannot be reversed as it would affect the capital market.

"We are into an international project and the world is looking at us," the senior advocate said, adding that "the PIL was not genuine and it is used as a surrogate weapon of corporate war games."

He said the PIL was filed with an ulterior motive and this Grahak Mandal was not an organisation of poor farmers as claimed by the NGO.