RIL gas dispute: SC asks government to file affidavit of non-discrimination

The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the centre to file an affidavit stating that it will ensure the supply of gas from the Reliance Industries-operated Krishna-Godavari basin field to state-owned power utility National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) in a "non-discriminatory manner".

Continuing to take the union government to task in the natural gas supply and pricing case between the two Ambani brothers, solicitor general Gopal Subramanium, specially roped in for the occasion, assured the court that he would file an affidavit to this effect.

Subramanium told the bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and justices B Sudershan Reddy and P Sathasivam that the price at which RIL would sell natural gas to NTPC was arrived at through international competitive bidding.

He said the empowered group of ministers (EGoM), which had fixed the price of gas, had already said its decisions did not apply to NTPC, and that NTPC's case against RIL is pending before the Bombay high court.

At this, RIL counsel Harish Salve said the bone of contention between NTPC and RIL is whether a binding contract had been signed. According to RIL, it is not a concluded contract, but NTPC is maintaining that it is one, said Salve.

Mukul Rohatgi, another lawyer representing RIL, told the court that the two disputes were interconnected as the price at which RNRL sought gas from the government - $2.34 per unit - was derived from the RIL-NTPC deal. Also, both RNRL and NTPC were of the view that their contracts did not need government approval.