The Supreme Court on Friday directed Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) to respond to the final CAG report alleging irregularities, including in payments made to the contractors on drilling of D6 wells at the Krishna-Godavari basin.
Granting RIL six weeks to respond, a Bench led by Justice T.S. Thakur posted the case for March 20.
On that date, the Bench said would examine RIL's reply in connection with the audit body's report that sought disallowance of $357.16 million (about Rs 2,179 crore) expenditure RIL incurred on drilling of wells and payments to contractors in KG-D6.
Solicitor-General Ranjit Kumar said the Centre would wait to comment on the CAG findings until the Parliament's Public Account Committee, which is examining it, gives a final word.
The order was passed during a brief hearing of petitions filed in 2013 by senior CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta and NGO Common Cause. The petition challenged the then UPA government decision to double the price of natural gas from $4.2 to $ 8.4 per mmbtu and seeking cancellation of RIL's contract for exploration of oil and gas from the KG basin.
The court further permitted Mr. Dasgupta and the other petitioners to file their responses to the NDA government's fresh guidelines which would “supersede” the earlier UPA dispensation's policy on price fixation for natural gas, including that from KG basin.