Director General of Hydrocarbons Vinod Kumar Sibal, the deemed regulator overseeing the upstream business in the oil and gas sector, is in the eye of a storm as the Centre is considering an extension of his tenure, which ends on October 31.

The Central Vigilance Commission has ordered a “discreet inquiry” by the Central Bureau of Investigation into allegations about Sibal’s links with Reliance Industries Limited and some other players in the oil business.

“We received complaints against the Director General of Hydrocarbons from two sources, including one of our Chief Vigilance Officers. We have asked for a discreet enquiry and have referred the matter to the CBI,” Central Vigilance Commissioner Pratyush Sinha told the Idea Exchange programme at The Indian Express today.

He said that a “discreet enquiry” was chosen since a “preliminary enquiry” would have had to take the formal, legal route and could be damaging for an officer if nothing substantive emerges from the complaint.

When contacted, Sibal said: “I am upset not because I may be denied an extension but because the 2005 allegations are being raised by just one corporate house which has a conflicting interest (with RIL), to tarnish my image at a time when my case for extension is under consideration.”

Meanwhile, the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani group’s Reliance Natural Resources Limited (RNRL), which is locked in a fierce court battle with RIL over the pricing of gas supply from RIL to RNRL, filed a petition with the Supreme Court on Tuesday, seeking to place additional documents about Sibal’s alleged nexus with RIL.

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