Will move court against Reliance arbitration award: Pradhan
New Delhi, Aug 3 : India will appeal against a ruling by an international tribunal in favour of Reliance Industries (RIL) in a dispute over gas migration from fields operated by state-run explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Friday.
Last week, a three-member international arbitration tribunal rejected the government's $1.55 billion claim against RIL and held that the company could contractually produce and sell any gas that might have migrated from adjoining fields of ONGC into its area and Reliance was not obligated to seek prior government permission for doing so.
"The government will certainly file an appeal against the arbitration award in the higher forum. It will be in the high court," Pradhan told reporters here on the sidelines of an event organised by industry body CII.
By a majority vote last week, the arbitration panel held that the production sharing contract for the eastern offshore KG-D6 fields "does not prohibit but permits" RIL "to produce and sell gas which migrated into the sub-sea reservoir lying within (its) Contract Area from a source outside the Contract Area".
He said the government had made a claim on Reliance and its partners based on the recommendation of the Justice A.P. Shah Committee that quantified the natural gas that had migrated to KG-D6 from neighbouring blocks of ONGC.
The tribunal also awarded $8.3 million as compensation to the three partners in the operator consortium of the KG-D6 block, where RIL has 60 per cent interest, British major BP holds 30 per cent and Niko Resources of Canada the remaining 10 per cent.
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Maharashtra farmer’s kidney sale in Cambodia exposes suspected international organ racket
Mumbai: A 36-year-old dairy farmer from Maharashtra’s Chandrapur district allegedly sold his kidney in Cambodia after mounting debts and alleged harassment by moneylenders. His complaints has led police to uncover what they describe as a wider transnational organ trafficking network.
According to The Print, Roshan Kule is a resident of Minthur village. He approached police in December 2025, alleging that severe financial distress forced him to travel to Phnom Penh, where he underwent kidney removal surgery on October 14, 2024, at Preah Ket Mealea Hospital. He told investigators he received around ₹8 lakh for the organ.
The case was raised in the Maharashtra Assembly last week, where Chief Minister and Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis directed authorities to expedite the probe.
Superintendent of Police Mummaka Sudarshan said investigators suspect an organised racket involving agents, medical professionals and hospitals. “So far, only Kule has come forward, but we believe there are more donors facing financial distress. We are persuading others to share information,” he said.
According to Kule’s complaint, his troubles began in March 2021 when all 12 of his cows contracted lumpy skin disease. After spending about ₹40,000 on treatment, he allegedly borrowed ₹1 lakh from a local moneylender at high interest. He claimed he was later threatened and assaulted for failing to repay the amount within the stipulated time.
Kule named several lenders in his complaint, alleging that between 2021 and 2022 he paid back over ₹48.5 lakh against loans of only a few lakh rupees. He said he sold land, pledged gold and gave up a tractor but remained under pressure.
Police said Kule contacted Ramkrushna Sunchu, a Solapur resident described as an intermediary in the network, after searching online for options. Investigators alleged that another agent, Himanshu Bhardwaj of Mohali, facilitated travel arrangements. Sunchu himself had previously sold a kidney, police said.
After returning to India, Kule reportedly traveled to Vietnam for job arranged by one of the agents, when he was allegedly beaten and his passport confiscated. He requested assistance from Congress MLA Vijay Wadettiwar in July 2025 and he was certified to return to India.
Police have registered cases against six people under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for extortion, criminal intimidation, and conspiracy, as well as parts of the Maharashtra Money Lending (Regulation) Act.
During the investigation, Bhardwaj was found to have earlier sold his kidney at Star Kims Hospital in Tamil Nadu. Authorities are probing the alleged involvement of the hospital’s managing director, Dr Rajaratnam Govindswamy, who is currently absconding after securing transit bail from the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court.
Investigators also suspect the role of Delhi-based surgeon Dr Ravinderpal Singh, who allegedly performed transplant procedures linked to the network. The matter is being heard before the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court, which has granted Singh anticipatory bail and interim protection till March 11.
According to police, recipients were allegedly charged between ₹55 lakh and ₹60 lakh per transplant, with the money shared among doctors, agents, hospitals and donors. Sunchu and Bhardwaj are currently in custody.
The investigation is being conducted by a Special Investigation Team led by Additional SP Ishwar Katkade and further details are awaited.
