Now Reading: SC slaps Rs 10 lakh cost on Reliance over NTPC suit
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SC slaps Rs 10 lakh cost on Reliance over NTPC suit
The Supreme Court on Friday imposed a cost of Rs 10 lakh on Reliance Industries Ltd for obstructing a 20-year-old commercial suit filed by NTPC. The bench of Justices PS Narasimha and…
The Story in Brief
The Supreme Court on Friday imposed a cost of Rs 10 lakh on Reliance Industries Ltd for obstructing a 20-year-old commercial suit filed by NTPC. The bench of Justices PS Narasimha and Alok Aradhe directed the amount be deposited with the Supreme Court Advocates on Record Association within five weeks.
The suit, filed in 2005, concerns a natural gas supply agreement and remains stuck at the evidence stage. RIL repeatedly raised objections, prompting the court to remark that the company had "unlimited power" to litigate and obstruct progress. The bench noted that a 2019 direction to complete the trial in nine months had not been complied with, and ordered the Bombay High Court to dispose of the suit expeditiously.
The Indian Opinion
Most coverage frames RIL as the sole villain, but the court itself admitted that allowing a party to prolong litigation is "a sad reflection of the way courts conduct their proceedings." The real test is whether the Bombay High Court now sets a strict deadline and enforces it. If the suit still drags six months from now, the problem is not just one company's resources, but the system's inability to contain them.
Sources (2): livelaw.in, barandbench.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
