Twelve years after the government sold its stake in Hindustan Zinc Ltd (HZL) to Vedanta group during the previous NDA rule, a PIL has been filed in the Supreme Court on Wednesday seeking quashing of the deal.
The petitioner mentioned the case before a bench headed by Justice Vikramajit Sen which refused to give an urgent hearing and listed the matter after vacation.
The petitioner M.L. Sharma, an advocate, alleged that the properties of the company were undervalued and sold to Vedanta group at a throwaway price.
“Issue writ of mandamus to declare/quash impugned undervalued sale transactions of equity shares of HZL dated April 2002 and August 2003 by the disinvestment ministry being illegal, fraudulent within criminal conspiracy,” the petition said.
Vedanta group company Sterlite Opportunities and Ventures (SOVL) holds around 64 per cent stake in HZL. SOVL had initially acquired 26 per cent stake in HZL in 2002.
Subsequently, it bought 20 per cent public holding in the company. In 2003, it acquired additional 18.92 per cent stake from the government exercising call option.
