PMO writes to oil ministry over Anil Ambani plaint

Amid the legal battle between Mukesh and Anil Ambani groups on gas supply from the former's Krishna-Godavari field, the prime minister's office has written to the petroleum ministry seeking comments on the allegation by younger brother Anil that the ministry was interfering in the dispute in favour of Mukesh's Reliance Industries Ltd.

Anil Ambani had earlier written to the PMO asking Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to direct the ministry to "cease from overtly and covertly attempting to intervene in our commercial dispute with RIL".

Anil's letter was first reported on Monday, two days after the petroleum ministry moved the Supreme Court seeking annulment of a Memorandum of Understanding between Mukesh-led RIL and Anil group firm Reliance Natural Resources Ltd.

The petroleum ministry, in its petition, had also sought a stay on the 15 June Bombay High Court decision that directed RIL to supply gas to RNRL at $2.34 per mmBtu, a price that is 44 per cent less than the government-prescribed rate.

Anil Ambani's letter had said, ''We have recently seen a spate of unfortunate public utterances with unusual frequency by various functionaries in the petroleum ministry to the print and electronic media in a manner not witnessed in any other part of the government, that too on a matter that is sub judice in the Hon'ble Supreme Court.''

The Supreme Court will hear on September one admissibility of the petition, along with the cross petitions filed by the two brothers challenging the High Court decision.