New Delhi:
The Supreme Court's verdict in the Ambani gas war rules that the government is the sole owner of gas and that it alone has the right to decide the price of gas.
The Additional Solicitor General, Mohan Parasaran, who represented the Petroleum Ministry, spoke exclusively to NDTV about the verdict.
"The judgement has far-reaching implications for common man because the Supreme Court has said gas is national property. The Supreme Court has unambiguously ruled that the government is the sovereign owner of gas and has absolute rights to regulate the sale of gas in different dimensions, including fixing valuation of gas, and the tenure- for what period it can be sold. It has held that there cannot be a private agreement between parties without government knowledge. The MoU (between Mukesh and Anil Ambani) did not take into account the policies of the government...so it is not legally binding... because it is in conflict with the decisions taken by the government. The price of $2.34 as fixed in the MoU is no longer valid. It goes against the valuation of the government (as decided in the contract between the government and RIL).
Prasaran added that RIL and RNIL have to renegotiate their contract for the sale of gas by Mukesh's RIL to Anil's RNRL. The brothers have to file an application for their renegotiated contract in the Company Court in Bombay, and take will have to followe government policies and evaluations as listed in the government's production-sharing contract with Mukesh's RIL. The Bombay High Court will then review the brothers' application.