The Supreme Court on Thursday opined that Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) cannot deny knowledge of the Ambani family pact between the Ambani brothers, brokered by their mother Kokilaben [pictured]. "Mukesh Ambani had a copy of the Memorandum of Understanding?" the Bench asked. To the affirmative response received from Harish Salve, "So you cannot say RIL did not know of the MoU," they retorted.

Reliance Natural Resources Ltd (RNRL) counsel Ram Jethmalani wants to cross examine the seven directors of RIL, whose affidavits claim they had no knowledge of the contents of the family pact, in the event that the Supreme Court admitted the evidence of the directors. He argued that the affidavits were not presented to the Bombay High Court.

The Bench made the observation amid RIL counsel's ongoing arguments that the family pact was "in the private domain" and "not in the corporate domain" and thus, not binding on his client company.

In a related development, Additional Solicitor General Mohan Parasaran has denied reports that he had threatened to quit if Senior Counsel P.P. Rao was briefed. Last week, he wrote to the Petroleum Secretary R.S. Pandey saying he had never threatened to withdraw from the case or resign as ASG, official sources said.

The government had, in consultation with Parasaran, expanded its legal team last month by including Additional Solicitor General Vivek Tankha. "I wish to unequivocally state that the statement that I threatened to withdraw from the case or resign from my office as ASG is not correct and is denied," Parasaran wrote to the Oil Ministry on November 7.