“Serve Copies To Other Side On Caveat”: Supreme Court In Plea Seeking Investigation Into Alleged Corporate Frauds By Reliance Industries Viz. Optical Fibre Infra

The Supreme Court Bench comprising Hon’ble Chief Justice SA Bobde, Justice AS Bopanna & Justice V Ramasubramanian has adjourned the plea filed by Kiran Chand Lunawat concerning huge corporate frauds amounting to Rs 78,140 Crore by Reliance Industries Ltd (“Respondent No 2”), Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd (“Respondent No 3”), Jio Digital Fibre Private Ltd (“Respondent No 4”) & Digital Fibre Infrastructure Trust (“Respondent No 5”) in dealing with a public resource namely optical fibre infrastructure. 

Vide order dated April 17,2021, the Supreme Court directed the Advocate on Record Anoop Prakash Awasthi to serve copies of necessary documents to Advocate on Record Mr KR Sasiprabhu who entered as caveat on behalf of Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. The same was complied with & the caveat were served the copies of the same.

An information was received by Advocate on Record Anoop Prakash Awasthi as per which Sr Adv Harish Salve was being briefed even while the letter of adjournment was circulated.

It was argued in the plea that the fraud amounting to Rs 78,140 crore was played through significant & unreal exaggeration in the value of certain assets in the process of their transfer from Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd to Jio Digital Fibre Private Ltd & thereafter certain subsequent financial transactions have been carried out on the basis of the said exaggeration. 

“The same has not only posed the shareholders of Reliance Industries Ltd (about 26 lakh in number) at grave financial risk but has also endangered the communication network system & economy of the entire nation given the many supra national & international contracts signed by Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd in respect of communication networks”, the plea read. 

The petitioner also averred that the unchecked misadventures of Respondent No 2 to 5 reveal the failure of Union of India through Secretary of Ministry of Corporate Affairs to preserve a public resource governed by public trust doctrine. 

“Fraud & mismanagement of this magnitude must be checked before colossal crashes involving corporate behemoths ensue, upsetting the entire economy of the nation”- excerpt from the plea

Reference was made to the National Digital Communications Policy, 2018 by which the Union of India announced Rashtriya Broadband Abhiyan to secure universal broadband access & as a part of the same declared its intention to accord Telecom Optic Fibre cables the status of public utility.

Case Title: Kiran Chand Lunawat v. Union of India| WP(C) 430/2021