``We have not found any deficiency or discrepancy in the status report submitted by CBI so as to direct an independent investigation either by central vigilance commission or by any other authority,'' a division bench comprising Justice Y K Sabharwal and Justice K S Gupta said.

The consortium was granted 25 years lease of Mukta and Panna offshore oil and gas fields for a sum of Rs 12 crore and the petitioners had alleged the contract was totally unconscionable, induced by bribery and corruption and gave away valuable natural resources of the country for a paltry sum of 3.60 million dollars.

The court in its 38-page order said ``prima facie we have not found the contract in question to be unconscionable''. The contract was awarded during theperiod of Capt Satish Sharma as petroleum minister. The petitioners had alleged that the then petroleum minister received an amount of Rs four crore from Reliance Industries according to the statement made by B N Safaya, private secretary to the minister, to CBI in the JMM MPs bribery case.

The court said regarding the statements of Safaya, it may only be noticed that he retracted his statements made before CBI during investigation of the JMM MPs bribery case. The petitioners centre for public interest litigation (CPIL) and Dr B L Wadhera had sought cancellation of the contract awarded by Narasimha Rao government after completion of an independent investigation.

CPIL counsel Prashant Bhushan had alleged the decision to award the contract was taken without examining the comparative economics of operating these oil fields through the joint venture or ONGC alone and due to this contract the government would lose crores of rupees.

Petitioners submitted that the oil fields were estimated to have arecoverable oil reserve of 31.35 million tonnes worth Rs 20,000 crore at current international prices. The court said ``the facts aforesaid have been examined by us only with a view to prima facie satisfy whether the contract is unconscionable so as to call for an independent probe. We hasten to add that neither we are experts in the field nor have we attempted to perform the function of a special auditor''.

They said these oil fields were developed by the ONGC between 1973 and 1993 at an estimated cost of Rs 546 crore and the public sector undertaking was making substantial profits by selling oil to the government at the administered price.