RNRL files ‘chamber summons’ to cross examine petromin under secy

MUMBAI: Reliance Natural Resources (RNRL), an ADAG (Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group) company, on Monday, filed "chamber summons" to cross examine the under secretary in the petroleum ministry in the Bombay High Court.

RNRL is fighting a legal battle with Reliance Industries (RIL) over the supply of gas from the latter���s Krishna Godavari basin to the former���s proposed power plant at Dadri in Uttar Pradesh. The petroleum ministry became an intervener in the case and S Sundaram, an under secretary, had filed an affidavit on behalf of the government.

The filing comes after the additional solicitor general of India, representing the government, in the legal battle, had said that an officer from the ministry could be cross-examined in the case by the RNRL counsel only after the company
issued a "chamber summons".

It means that the RNRL counsel can cross-examine S Sundaram, subject to the permission of the court, in the next hearing on December 11.

It is learnt that RNRL, on Monday, also demanded that the government should make records of various documents, related to the case, public. This includes details (the agenda, notes and minutes) of the empowered group of ministers (EGoM) meeting on September 12, 2007, when the government approved the price of gas from KG basin; the EGoM meeting on May 28, 2008, when the government allocated gas from RIL���s KG basin to various entities; and the EGoM meeting on October 23, 2008, when the government reviewed its earlier decisions and took the RIL-NTPC gas sales agreement for pricing approvals.

In addition, RNRL has said that various presentations made by the petroleum ministry to EGoM, PMO and the Cabinet secretary should be made public. When contacted, an RNRL spokesperson declined to comment, saying the matter was sub-judice. RIL and RNRL may file a rejoinder to the government���s fresh affidavit, when the court resumes hearing the case on December 11.