Reliance ADAG Chairman Anil Ambani has told his staff he was “disappointed” by Friday's Supreme Court order, but nevertheless happy the apex court upheld RNRL’s core positions.
In a letter addressed to group employees, he said the company pursued the legal remedy as a last resort to safeguard the interest of all stakeholders, in particular the over 2.5 million shareholders of RNRL.
Seeking to clear any misgivings, as employees would “have heard different, often conflicting, interpretations of the verdict”, Ambani said in his letter that he looked forward to an expeditious renegotiation with rival Reliance Industries.
“We respect the judgment and note that the Supreme Court has safeguarded the interests of over 2.5 million RNRL shareholders by laying down guidelines for an expeditious finalisation of the gas supply agreement between RIL and RNRL,” went the letter.
“Though we are disappointed by the final outcome, it is important that the Supreme Court has upheld our core position,” Anil said. The apex court, he said, had upheld the position that the company petition filed by RNRL was maintainable and that the court had wide powers to modify the scheme and make it workable.
Further, the family agreement signed on June 8, 2005, formed the backdrop of the scheme, and was the guiding force and the basis of the scheme of arrangement for business reorganisation of the Reliance group, including RIL's obligation to supply gas to RNRL. The gas supply arrangements needed to be suitable not only to RIL, but also the shareholders of RNRL, Ambani said, noting the court had endorsed this.
Reliance Power's gas-based projects would provide 8,000-Mw of clean green power, in line with the Government of India's declared gas utilisation policy which laid down that consumption of natural gas for the power sector was amongst the highest priorities for the nation, second only to the fertiliser sector, the letter said.
