Now Reading: Supreme Court allows Delhi HC to hear $2.31 bn Reliance claim
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Supreme Court allows Delhi HC to hear $2.31 bn Reliance claim
The Supreme Court on Friday allowed the Delhi High Court to continue hearing the Centre's $2.31 billion claim against Reliance Industries in the Panna-Mukta and Tapti offshore oilfields dispute. A bench led…
The Story in Brief
The Supreme Court on Friday allowed the Delhi High Court to continue hearing the Centre's $2.31 billion claim against Reliance Industries in the Panna-Mukta and Tapti offshore oilfields dispute. A bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant declined to halt proceedings, while keeping open Reliance's objection to the maintainability of the government's appeal. The company can raise the issue again after the high court delivers its final verdict.
The dispute dates back to 1994 production-sharing contracts between the Centre and a consortium of Reliance, British Gas and ONGC. The Centre alleges Reliance recovered costs beyond contractual limits, retaining excess revenue. Reliance denies this. In 2019, the Centre sought to enforce a 2016 partial arbitral award. A single judge dismissed that petition in 2023, and a division bench in February this year rejected Reliance's maintainability challenge. Reliance then approached the Supreme Court only on the maintainability issue.
The Indian Opinion
The standard narrative pits a mighty Reliance against a desperate government, but the facts are more mundane. Both sides agreed the high court should hear the merits; the only dispute was whether Reliance could later reargue maintainability. The Supreme Court sensibly kept that door ajar. The real test will come when the Delhi High Court decides whether a partial arbitral award can be enforced while arbitration continues. That ruling, not the current procedural skirmish, will determine who owes whom.
Sources (2): livemint.com, timesnownews.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
