Dear Editor,
This refers to the lead story 'Reliance vs government: Rift widens, or is the Centre buying time?' in dna dated July 16, and your website. Your newspaper/website's right to publish what it deems fit is unquestionable, but a story of such prominence has to get its facts right.
Your newspaper/website contacted us at 8.41 pm on July 15 for our reaction and then, set an impossible deadline.
On facts: First, there is no mention of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) in the Comptroller and Auditor General of India's (CAG) report on 2G.
Nothing in that report merits your statement that "RIL had rigged conditions in its favour to bag the 4G contract, and which it used to launder money". If your reference is to the BWA spectrum, the transfer was in an open and transparent manner and in full compliance of rules.
Second, it is wrong to state that RIL has chosen to "hit back" at the BJP government. Our consortium's policy and legal rights in development of discovered fields inKG-D6 have been communicated from the time even when the previous government was in power.
Third, no responsible person has ever accused Mukesh Ambani of using "the 4G contract route to turn black money into white". This is defamatory.
Fourth, your story raises serious doubts on your newspaper/website's understanding of the functioning of quasi-judicial institutions such as the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT).
To imply that the government has a role in deciding the outcome of an on-going legal case in SAT is an illiterate attack on the prestige of a high institution in the public eye apart from causing serious damage to the image of RIL among known and unknown persons.
Specifically, there was no "insider trading" charge against RIL in SAT. Your implications and the facts behind the implication are wrong.
You are entitled to personal confusions on 2G, 4G and KG. But by publishing and legitimising them across the globe, you have personally caused damage to RIL.
Warm regards,
Tushar Pania
Spokesperson, RIL
dna replies:
We wish to state that the report carried by dna is not meant to hurt any individual, but based on documents we have accessed to. In reply to RIL's response, we wish to state the following:
1. Media houses invariably file stories with very short deadlines.
2. CAG report, submitted as Annexure A along with an application in the ongoing 2G scam with the Supreme Court by noted lawyer Prashant Bhushan, is titled: "Serious breach of auction conditions by IBSPL and post-auction, undue favour to RIL by permitting voice services on BWA spectrum''. The very title of the CAG report names RIL and has reference to RIL at a number of places in sub-heads and text. It may be noted that IBSPL was later rechristened Reliance Jio Infocomm.
3.In a complaint dated July 8 to SIT on Black Money, Prashant Bhushan alleged a case of huge money laundering and siphoning of money involving India's biggest corporate group, RIL. Bhushan's complaint has been accepted by SIT for further investigations.
4. The SEBI and SAT cases refer to the 7-year old case, which RIL had sought to "settle". The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT), on July 14, dismissed an appeal by RIL against stock market regulator SEBI. SAT upheld charges of "illegal trading gains". Earlier, SEBI had refused to settle charges against RIL under the consent mechanism, following an investigation into its activities dating back to 2007. RIL can now move the Supreme Court, but now SEBI is free to invoke the provisions of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices (FUTP) regulations.
—Editor
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