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HC asks GAIL to 'negotiate fairly' with GSPC over gas

Terms its move to terminate gas contract 'unreasonable and arbitrary'

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HC asks GAIL to 'negotiate fairly' with GSPC over gas
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The Gujarat high court, on Wednesday, set aside an action of GAIL (India) to terminate long-term contract of providing gas to state government-owned Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC).


A bench of justices RR Tripathi and Mohinder Pal termed the move of the central government’s subsidiary as unreasonable and arbitrary. The bench directed GAIL to engage itself in bonafide and fair negotiation with GSPC to arrive at a price that would be applicable to provide gas 2014 onwards. 

The bench issued the order over a petition filed by GSPC after GAIL terminated the contract to provide Re-gasified Liquefied Natural Gas (RLNG) in 2012 and asked the company to acquire gas at rate according to prevailing market condition rather than price pooling mechanism.


The GSPC submitted before the court that the company entered into the contract in 2004 with GAIL to provide RLNG till 2019. According to a clause in the contract, GAIL has to provide gas as per the price pooling mechanism and both the companies have to decide fresh price to provide gas from January 2014 onwards. The price was to be decided on or before December 31, 2011, failing which the contract would be terminated.


GSPC further submitted that they had communicated to GAIL before the stipulated deadline but it did not give a satisfactory reply nor did it arrive for negotiation to decide new prices. They then terminated the contract in 2012 and asked GSPC to procure gas as per market rates, which is higher than the price pooling mechanism. GSPC filed the petition before the high court after GAIL failed to respond to several correspondences.
 

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