Gas pricing row: RIL moves Delhi HC for quashing of FIR

Terming the FIR by erstwhile AAP government on gas pricing as "motivated" and a "political" gimmick, Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) on Friday moved the Delhi High Court seeking its quashing on the ground that the issue fell within the domain of the Centre and is well beyond the power of the state government.

A bench of Justice Manmohan has fixed the plea of RIL, which also challenges a 1993 notification according power to the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) of Delhi administration, for hearing on May 20.

"The very act of registration of an FIR by the state government to inquire into the policy decision taken by the Union government is ultra-vires to the Constitution...and the respective field of their jurisdiction in the matters relating to the Legislation and Executive are clearly demarcated under the same.

"It is submitted that it does not permit encroachment by one authority upon the jurisdiction earmarked for another....any attempt by the state to inquire into the affairs of the Union (both on its legality or alleged criminality) is thus against the basic tenets of federal structure of Indian Constitution," the plea said.

The Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government had lodged an FIR naming Petroleum Minister M Veerappa Moily, Mukesh Ambani and others on gas pricing issue and had alleged that the Congress-led UPA government "favoured" RIL with an eye on 2014 general elections and BJP maintained "silence" hoping to gain corporate funding for the polls.

RIL, the Mukesh Ambani-led flagship company, in its plea, alleged the FIR was "motivated and malicious" and was part of the "political gimmicking" as the AAP, before and during the state election campaign, had made "false and frivolous" allegations against the firm.

"The entire exercise of filing the FIR by Respondent no. 1 (Delhi government) is motivated and malicious and same is evident from the fact that before and during the campaigning for the election..., the erstwhile ruling political party (AAP) has been raising false and frivolous allegations, which now forms part of impugned FIR ... it is completely motivated political exercise," it said.

The FIR said, "This is also the reason why the main opposition party, the BJP, is silent on the issue as during election time, when huge slush of funds is required by the major parties, no one is willing to speak against this decision even though price rise is normally an important political issue."

The five-page FIR with which annexures have been attached was lodged by the ACB of Delhi Government on a complaint sent to then Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal by former Cabinet Secretary T S R Subramanian, former Secretary E A S Sarma, former Navy Chief Admiral R H Tahiliani and advocate Kamini Jaiswal.

Besides Moily and RIL chairperson Ambani, former Petroleum Minister Murli Deora, ex-Director General of Hydrocarbons V K Sibal and other unknown persons have been named as accused in the case.

The FIR was lodged under sections 420 (cheating), 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC and under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.