The Supreme Court on Friday declined to halt the Delhi High Court's hearing of the Union government's $2.31 billion claim against Reliance Industries Ltd and its partners related to the Panna-Mukta and Tapti offshore oilfields dispute. The top court allowed the high court to proceed with the appeal seeking enforcement of a foreign arbitral award in the nearly 30-year-old case, according to livemint.com.
A bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant was hearing Reliance's challenge to the Delhi High Court's February order, which had ruled that the Centre's appeal was maintainable. The Supreme Court kept Reliance's objection to the maintainability of the appeal open but declined to interfere with the ongoing proceedings, permitting the high court to examine the merits of the case further, livemint.com reported.
The dispute involves the Centre's attempt to recover $2.31 billion from Reliance and its partners over offshore oilfields contracts dating back almost three decades. The case has seen multiple legal battles over jurisdiction and enforceability of arbitration awards. The Delhi High Court's February ruling marked a key development by allowing the government's appeal to move forward, underscoring the high stakes involved in this longstanding energy sector conflict, according to livemint.com.
The Supreme Court's decision enables the Delhi High Court to continue hearing the government's appeal, with the next stages expected to address substantive issues related to the enforcement of the foreign arbitral award. The case remains a significant legal matter in India's energy and commercial dispute landscape, as reported by livemint.com.