Anil Ambani's daily practice is coming handy as he hurries to the Supreme Court to get the first mover advantage in an ongoing battle with brother Mukesh over gas.
The younger Ambani's company Reliance Natural Resources Ltd (RNRL) has filed for a petition that says the high court order should bind Reliance to sign on the gas supply agreement, which allows RNRL to get gas at a cheaper price.
This clearly means that the battle between the two brothers is shifting from the financial capital to the political capital.
Mukul Rohatgi, senior counsel for RNRL, said, “We have moved early to show our anxiety toward shareholders. RIL is reluctant to sign agreement as per court order and continues to be obstructionist.”
But Mukesh Ambani won’t wait too long either if he is being cornered. He too is already preparing his petition for the Supreme Court.
RNRL needs gas from Reliance's reserves in the Krishna Godavari basin but RIL is not keen to sell it cheap at $2.34 per unit of gas.
The government, which is stuck in the middle, is more concerned about its own interests and not the warring brothers and it doesn’t want to lose this gas reserve, as it gets stuck in court over the selling price.
RNRL's counsel, using the government concerns to their favours, said it should put its foot down.
"The government should not lose a single penny due to the dispute. Our demands from RIL will not impact it in anyway if the government intervenes,” he said.
For the two warring brothers, Monday will be an emotional day, their father Dhirubhai's death anniversary, which is why, Mukesh Ambani may wait till Tuesday to file his petition challenging earlier orders by Bombay high court order in this dispute.