Bombay High Court Dismisses Petition Against RIL and Ambani

The Bombay High Court rejected a petition demanding a CBI investigation against Reliance Industries Ltd and its chairman, Mukesh Ambani, for allegedly extracting natural gas unlawfully from ONGC's Krishna-Godavari basin fields. The court declined relief to the petitioner, who claimed RIL conducted a 'massive organized fraud' from 2004 to 2013.

The Bombay High Court on Friday declined a petition seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into allegations against Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) and its chairman Mukesh Ambani. The petition accused them of the illegal extraction of natural gas from Oil and Natural Gas Corporation's (ONGC) Krishna-Godavari basin fields.

A bench led by Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Suman Shyam dismissed the plea by Jitendra Maru, who sought an FIR to be filed for alleged offenses of theft, dishonesty, misappropriation, and criminal breach of trust. As of now, the full order details have yet to be made public.

According to Maru, RIL allegedly conducted a 'massive organized fraud' over nearly a decade by drilling sideways from its wells into adjacent ONGC wells, thereby unlawfully extracting gas. The alleged unauthorized extraction was reportedly discovered by ONGC in 2013 and reported to the Government of India, with investigations supported by DeGolyer and MacNaughton as well as a report from retired Justice A P Shah Committee.