Bombay High Court Dismisses ‘Pretentious’ Plea Seeking CBI Probe Against Reliance Industries”

Bombay High Court Dismisses ‘Pretentious’ Plea Seeking CBI Probe Against Reliance Industries”

On March 27, 2026, Friday, the Bombay High Court, a bench comprising the honourable Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Suman Shyam, dismissed the writ petition of activist Jitendra Maru, filed urging the court to direct the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to register a complaint against Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) and its officials on the grounds of alleged unlicensed extraction of gas from ONGC wells.

The court addressed the petition as “an abuse of the process of the court” and held it lacked genuine public interest. It was further noted that the petition had an oblique motive and was not filed with bona fide intent. The court also raised a key question before Maru: if they knew that any crime had taken place, then why did he not approach the court early? He could not establish his credentials as a social worker. However, I failed at answering the question.

The dispute relates to gas blocks in the Krishna-Godavari Basin owned by Reliance Industries Limited and ONGC. In 2013, ONGC claimed that gas had migrated from its block to RIL’s, leading to unfair gains to the company. A study in 2015 confirmed a connection between the reservoirs, and in 2016, thereafter, the central government raised a demand of approximately $1.55 billion from RIL. Although RIL initially won in arbitration. However, later, when the case was taken before the Delhi High Court, it ruled in favour of the government. The matter was thereafter taken before the Supreme Court of India.

The court noted, “In our opinion, it is not in the public interest that a writ petition based on certain observations made by the court is entertained and a direction for registration of an FIR is issued by the High Court. Registration of a criminal case is a very serious matter and entails drastic consequences for the proposed accused. No reason has been indicated in the writ petition, and the petitioner, who was present in court, could not offer any explanation as to why he did not approach the court earlier if he genuinely believed that any crime had been committed in respect of the tapping of gas from ONGC wells.”

The High Court flagged that allowing a criminal investigation is a serious matter and cannot be permitted without strong justification. It cautioned that such petitions can damage the reputation and business prospects of companies. Consequently, the court held that the petition is completely baseless and “pretentious”. Accordingly, dismissed it entirely.