Ambanis in SC with rival pleas

The battle between the Ambani brothers over gas supplies from the Krishna-Godavari basin finally reached the Supreme Court on Friday, with Anil Ambani-controlled Reliance Natural Resources Limited (RNRL.NS : 71.45 +0.8) (RNRL) filing a petition on the issue concerning the Bombay High Court judgment on the issue last month.

Brother Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd (RELIANCE.NS : 1957.5 +16.35) (RIL) also filed a caveat in the court to prevent any decision without its point being heard. "We have approached the Supreme Court against the last part of the Bombay High Court order wherein it has asked us to negotiate (with Reliance Industries)," RNRL's counsel Mukul Rohatgi told reporters.

RNRL shares surged by 12 per cent on the Bombay Stock Exchange (^BSESN : 16158.28 +94.38). They closed 6.8 per cent higher at Rs 86.65, compared with a 1.7 per cent rise in the benchmark Sensex. RIL shares slipped 1.5 per cent before recovering to close higher 0.8 per cent at Rs 2,025.85. The RNRL plea mad an issue out of RIL's snub to hold talks on gas sharing.He said the high court should not have asked RNRL to negotiate with RIL after specifying the price, the quantity and the tenure of gas supply. The Bombay High Court in its June 15 verdict had directed RIL to sell gas from its offshore D6 block in the KG basin to RNRL at $2.34 per unit, which is 44 per cent less than the government-recommended price of $4.20/unit. The court had also ordered both the companies to reach a final agreement on the modalities of the gas supply.