A significant legal motion has reached the Supreme Court of India, seeking an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into allegations that Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) unlawfully extracted natural gas from a Krishna-Godavari basin block operated by the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC). This plea, filed by petitioner Jitendra Punamchand Maru in the case of Jitendra Maru Vs CBI, calls for the registration of a First Information Report (FIR) against RIL, its directors, and other associated parties on charges including theft, criminal breach of trust, dishonest misappropriation, and conspiracy.
Maru’s appeal challenges a decision by the Bombay High Court dated March 27, which dismissed his petition citing it as an abuse of judicial process. The High Court had critiqued the petition, questioning its public interest claim and suggesting that Maru’s motivations were not in good faith. The court’s judgment stated, “This writ petition fails on each count and has been filed with a tainted motive.”
The core of the dispute lies in the alleged migration of natural gas from ONGC’s blocks in the Krishna-Godavari basin into the adjacent KG-D6 block managed by RIL and its consortium partners. Maru accused RIL of extracting gas through lateral drilling into ONGC’s territory, supported by various reports and previous legal proceedings involving RIL and the government. Despite these findings, no criminal investigation has been launched, prompting Maru to seek CBI intervention.
The CBI, however, closed Maru’s complaint in September 2025, citing the nature of the allegations as primarily civil. The agency also noted the absence of complaint from either ONGC or the Union government, who hold the primary interest in any claims against RIL.
RIL has denied all accusations of unauthorized gas extraction, asserting that the petition seeks to tarnish its reputation and serve the petitioner’s personal motives. The High Court also noted the substantial delay of over a decade in Maru’s pursuit of criminal charges, emphasizing the seriousness of initiating criminal proceedings and the potential damage to corporate reputation. “A petition like the present one causes serious harm to the reputation and business prospects of any corporate entity,” the court remarked.
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This case is intertwined with a broader commercial dispute between the Indian government and RIL regarding the alleged gas migration. An arbitral tribunal previously ruled in favor of RIL in July 2018. Although a single judge from the Delhi High Court upheld this award in May 2023, a Division Bench later overturned it in February 2025. RIL’s appeal against this Division Bench decision is currently pending before the Supreme Court, separate from Maru’s plea.
