The Hindu : Business : RPL issue: SC stays High Court hearing on PIL

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RPL issue: SC stays High Court hearing on PIL

J. Venkatesan

Three-judge Bench issues notice to NGO

NGO files PIL petition in Gujarat High Court
IPO can not be reversed, says counsel

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday stayed all further proceedings pending before the Gujarat High Court seeking to restrain Reliance Power Ltd. (RPL) from going ahead with the launch of Rs. 10,000-crore mega Initial Public Offering (IPO) on January 15.

A three-judge Bench comprising Chief Justice K. G. Balakrishnan, Justice R. V. Raveendran and Justice J. M. Panchal after hearing senior counsel Harish Salve, appearing for RPL, stayed the hearing of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition filed by a Rajkot-based NGO, Grahak Suraksha Mandal, in the Gujarat High Court. The Bench issued notice to the Mandal returnable in three weeks.

Mr. Salve, who mentioned the petition before the Bench, alleged that the PIL was motivated and filed to cause undue harassment to RPL. He said the PIL was now being used as a surrogate weapon to fight corporate war.

He said that the NGO had filed the petition before the Gujarat High Court after the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) had cleared the IPO.

In the appeal, the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) did not stay SEBI’s order.

The senior counsel contended that the Gujarat High Court was to take up the PIL for hearing on Wednesday and if the apex court did not interfere then similar petitions would be filed all over the country to blackmail the company.

He said the Initial Public Offering could not be reversed as it would affect the capital and stock markets. “We are into an international project and the world is looking at us. The project would go if the IPO was stopped and foreign institutional investors would not come,” Mr. Salve said.

Mr. Salve submitted that filing of a PIL to obstruct the IPO of the company would not only be against public interest but also against the interest of the investors.

While seeking stay of all further proceedings in the Gujarat High Court, RPL sought a direction to transfer all the pending litigations to the Bombay High Court since the registered office of the company was situated in Mumbai.

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