August 09:
The Anti-Corruption Branch of city government has informed the Delhi high court that it was within its right to lodge an FIR against RIL and others, including the then oil minister, for alleged irregularities in raising gas prices.
The ABC in its affidavit have sought dismissal of Rill’s plea for quashing of the FIR. It also said that it was an “absurd” and “misconceived” plea of the private firm that gas falls under the “Union list” of the Constitution and the state probe machinery cannot deal with such cases.
“The jurisdiction of the answering respondent (ABC) or the state police cannot be judged by subjects mentioned in the Union list (List I) or state list (List II) but has to be judged on the basis of situs of the alleged crime. The complaint disclosed commission of the offences in Delhi, and ABC having jurisdiction over national capital territory of Delhi, has validly exercised the jurisdiction to investigate. Once the commission of cognisable offence is made out in the complaint, it makes no difference as to who is the complainant,” said the affidavit.
The Aam Aadmi Party’s Delhi government had lodged the FIR naming the then petroleum minister Veerappa Moily, RILL chairman Mukesh Ambani and others on gas pricing issue. It had also alleged that the Congress-led UPA government “favoured” RILL looking at the 2014 general elections.
The ABC has sought dismissal of the RIL’s plea on various grounds like instead of filing a criminal writ petition, a civil one has been filed by the firm.
On February 10, the ACB had received a complaint from former Cabinet Secretary TSR Subramanium and others.
“The registration of the FIR is mandatory under section 154 of the CrPC, if the information discloses commission of a cognizable offence and no preliminary enquiry is permissible in such a situation,” the complaint had said.
“It is humbly submitted that earlier in time and prior to the present petition, the ACB has conducted investigation into the reported crimes wherein upon investigation/enquiry, it was found that the employees of the Central government were involved, despite the same the investigation of ACB continued,” added the affidavit.
The affidavit also claimed that in 2004, the Centre had signed a long term gas supply agreements with NTPC and the private firm at the rate of USD 2.34 per mmBtu and later in 2007, the price of gas was fixed at USD 4.24 per mmBtu.
Later, the gas price, to be paid to the firms with effect from April 1, 2014, was again hiked to USD 8.4 per mmBtu by the then Oil minister, the ACB said, adding that the cost incurred, however, is less than USD 1 per mmBtu.
“The higher cost of production of gas has been claimed on the basis of artificial expenses which have been made through group companies in respect of procurement of equipments for the oil exploration and all these would be the subject matter of investigation to find out as to whether there is any criminality on the part of the petitioner in the entire transaction or not,” it said.
On August 6, the court recused from hearing the case and now the matter will be heard on August 19.
The court had earlier had restrained the ACB from taking any coercive action against the accused.
Source: www.asianage.com/delhi/can-legally-probe-ril-case-acb-972?
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