This has not only caused a damage to the business empires of Mukesh Ambani and Anil Ambani to the tune of Rs. 28,000 crores in the recent judgments but also to other Indian business families. Although they have different businesses, legal decisions have affected both RIL and Reliance Infrastructure.
Reliance Infrastructure, owned by Anil Ambani, suffered a setback when the Supreme Court set aside an ₹8,000 crore arbitration award that had been received by its subsidiary, Delhi Airport Metro Express. The Appellate Court’s decision was a great burden to Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), which had already released ₹3,300 crore prior to the Appellate Court’s decision.
Meanwhile, Mukesh Ambani’s RIL was also served a severe shock. The Delhi High Court in a gas dispute that has been pending for many years between the company and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has directed RIL and its partners BP and Niko Resources to pay between ₹20,000 crore to ₹25,000 crore, including interest. The court said that RIL along with its partners BP and Niko Resources have unlawfully removed the natural gas from the adjacent field of ONGC from 2009 to 2013. At first, RIL got what it wanted, but a second bench of the court set aside the first bench’s decision and held that the previous arbitration award was ‘bad in law’ as it was illegal in essence.
The government of India alleged that RIL and its partners have committed ‘cunning fraud’ and ‘unjust enrichment’ of more than US$1.729 billion. When the court delivered the verdict on February 14 this year, RIL said it would appeal to the Supreme Court.
These legal battles have not only led to the companies in question losing a lot of money but also raised issues to do with compliance with the laws and corporate governance in India’s biggest business firms.
