Law ministry denies bypassing AG on Vedanta-Cairn deal

New Delhi : The union law ministry has termed as “false and inaccurate” a report in an English daily that said the Centre has avoided Attorney General of India GE Vahanvati in providing legal opinion on the Vedanta-Cairn deal due to his son?s involvement in the $9.6 billion project.

The Attorney General?s son, who is part of a legal firm, represented Vedanta on its purchase of the majority stake in Cairn, the report in Daily Pioneer said.

However, in a statement the law ministry Monday said: “The Ministry of Law and Justice takes exception to this report which is inaccurate and false. The Ministry would like to clarify that there was no question of ‘avoiding’ or ‘bypassing’ the Attorney General.”

The government said the report “Vahanvati son?s role in Vedanta makes Centre bypass AG” is inaccurate since “no proposal has been received by the Ministry from the Ministry of Petroleum in relation to the Vedanta-Cairn matter”.

“Accordingly, the question of any such proposal being sent directly to the Solicitor General does not arise. Further, no complaints have been received by this Ministry in relation to any alleged possible clash of interest as far as the Attorney General is concerned.”

“The Attorney General?s son is an independent professional practicing law as a Partner of AZB & Partners. This report is unfair, contrary to facts on record and has created unnecessary controversy,” it said.

The paper quoting “highly-placed Government sources” said the ?presence of the Attorney General?s son? in the deal prompted the Law Ministry to send the Petroleum Ministry?s proposal seeking legal advice to the Solicitor General, bypassing the Attorney General.

The name of the Attorney General?s son, Essaji Vahanvati, was mentioned in the joint Press release issued by the two companies after they inked the $9.6 billion deal, the paper said.

British firm Cairn Energy proposes to sell a controlling stake in Cairn India, a stakeholder of the oil-rich Mangala field in the Rajasthan, to London-listed Vedanta but under production-sharing contracts, a change in ownership of oil blocks requires government approval.

The Indian oil ministry said it will decide by December end whether to approve the deal.

Cairn India holds stakes in 10 oil and gas blocks in India and has tie-up with Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), which contributes 77% of India’s crude oil production and 81% of India’s natural gas production.