SC judge withdraws himself from Ambani gas case

In an unexpected turn of events, one of the Supreme Court judges hearing the gas price dispute between the Ambani brothers, Justice R V Raveendran, on Wednesday withdrew from the bench hearing the case on ethical grounds, saying his daughter is associated with a solicitors' firm advising Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries Ltd on other global projects. 

A new bench will be constituted on Thursday to hear the case between Mukesh Ambani's RIL and Anil Ambani's Reliance Natural Resources Ltd relating to natural gas from RIL's Krishna-Godavari Basin block.

"I am recusing myself from hearing this matter since I came to know only on Tuesday that my daughter is associated with a solicitors' firm which is advising the Mukesh Ambani group in other matters relating to projects of global acquisitions," Raveendran said when the matter came up.

The judge said that he came to know that law firm AZB partners in Bangalore, with which his daughter is associated since 1 September this year, is advising the Mukesh Ambani group in other projects.

The bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan adjourned the matter and decided to hear it afresh after another bench is constituted on Thursday.

Citing a 1995 agreement when the two brothers decided to go their separate ways, RNRL is seeking gas from RIL at rates 44 per cent lower than government-approved price. RIL says it cannot honour the commitment made in the family agreement due to the government's pricing and distribution policies.