Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) today alleged in the Supreme Court that their corporate rivals were behind the petitions filed by farmers against the land acquition for the company’s proposed 8,000 MW Dadri power project in Uttar Pradesh.
"The petitions were motivated. This was a case of corporate rivalry. The rivalry seen in the gas dispute here (before the apex court)," senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Anil Ambani-led Reliance Power Ltd (RPL), said before a Bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan.
RPL's submission came during the hearing of its petition challenging the decision of the Allahabad High Court quashing Uttar Pradesh Government's notification to acquire land for the project.
The Bench, also comprising Justices R V Raveendran and Deepak Verma, posted the matter for hearing on January 29 after advocate M L Sharma, appearing for some farmers, said a caveat has already been filed in the matter and no order should be passed without hearing the opposite side.
"We are also not planning for any stay now," the Bench said while accepting the plea of the farmers that they should be given opportunity to be heard.
Rohatgi said he has no objection and accepted the suggestion that a copy of RPL's petition be given to the farmers who have filed the caveat.
However, he alleged that at the behest of ADAG's corporate rivals, petitions were filed in the High Court by the farmers against the allocation of land for the project for which the gas was to be supplied from the KG Basin and the apex court recently saw between Ambani brothers on it.