Plea before SC seeks CBI probe into 'KG Basin gas extraction' by Reliance

A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court challenging a Bombay High Court judgment that refused to order a criminal investigation into allegations that Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) illegally extracted natural gas from an adjoining Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) block in the Krishna-Godavari (KG) Basin.

The appeal has been filed by Jitendra Punamchand Maru, who is seeking directions for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to register an FIR against RIL, its directors and others on charges including theft, criminal breach of trust, dishonest misappropriation and criminal conspiracy.

Maru has challenged the Bombay High Court's March 27 ruling, which dismissed his petition after finding it to be an abuse of the judicial process.

The High Court observed that although the petition was presented as a matter of public interest, it failed to demonstrate any genuine public purpose. It also held that Maru had not established his bona fides.

The dispute stems from allegations that gas migrated from ONGC-operated fields into the neighbouring KG-D6 block operated by RIL and its consortium partners. Maru claimed that RIL extracted the gas through directional drilling and relied on expert reports and earlier proceedings involving RIL and the Union government to support his allegations.

According to the petition, despite findings regarding the alleged migration of gas, no criminal action was initiated. Maru later approached the CBI seeking registration of an FIR, but the agency closed his complaint in September 2025.

Before the High Court, the CBI argued that the dispute was essentially civil in nature and noted that neither ONGC nor the Union government — the entities that could potentially pursue claims against RIL — had sought a criminal investigation.

RIL denied the allegations, contending that the petition was intended only to tarnish its reputation and attract publicity. The High Court also questioned why Maru had waited for more than a decade before initiating criminal proceedings.

Emphasising the consequences of criminal prosecution, the court observed that registration of an FIR carries serious implications for those accused.

The underlying commercial dispute has already been the subject of arbitration. An arbitral tribunal ruled in RIL's favour in July 2018. While a single judge of the Delhi High Court upheld the award in May 2023, a Division Bench overturned that decision in February 2025. RIL's appeal against the Division Bench ruling is currently pending before the Supreme Court.