SC imposes one cr penalty on Reliance

New Delhi, Apr 5 (UNI) The Supreme Court today imposed an exemplary penalty of Rs one crore on Reliance group of industries headed by Mukesh Ambani for laying 22 km of optic fibre lines through Madhav National Park in Madhya Pradesh without prior permission of authorities.

A bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justice R V Raveendran directed Reliance to deposit the penalty within a month, failing which the state government would be free to recover the same as land revenue arrears.

Today's order came on the recommendation of the Centrally Empowered Committee (CEC) which recommended strict action against Reliance for trying to evade Net Present Value (NPV) tax.

The apex court had directed CEC to look into the matter on an application filed by one Santosh Bharti who had brought to the notice of the court serious violation of forest laws resulting in damage to environment in the area.

UNI