As Reliance Industries Limited on thursday emphasised before the Supreme Court that gas supply at $2.34 per mmBtu would not be in its interest, the bench hearing the high-stake battle between RIL and RNRL asked if it not be in “public interest” to supply gas at that rate to all parties. The court was referring to NTPC and RNRL. “Was it not in the public interest that all should be supplied gas at the rate of $2.34 per mmBtu . If (the) government says that the price of gas for all will be $2.34 per mmBtu, will it not be in a public interest?”asked the three-member bench led by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan.

Hearing Reliance Industries’ senior advocate Harish Salve’s arguments on marketing rights of the gas for RIL, the court asked, “For making it from $2.34 to $4.20 per mmBtu you (RIL) are only the beneficiary and not the public. RIL is gaining and not the public. Is it in the public interest?”

As Salve pressed that selling at this price would not be in RIL’s interest, the bench also comprising Justices R V Raveendran and P Sathasivam felt, “if the gas is supplied at a lower price, the country is going to be benefited”.

“This is not an issue between the two brothers. The issue is how the government could regulate the price of gas arbitrarily and with this whose interest is being protected?” asked the bench.