Subsidiaries of the Anil Ambani-led Reliance ADAG surged on the stock market on Friday after the Supreme Court refused to intervene in the $9 billion Rafale fighter aircraft deal.
The stocks of telecom major Reliance Communications (RCom) and infrastructure giant Reliance Infrastructure (RInfra) were the most active, touching new intra-day highs on a day when BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty traded range bound.
The top court dismissed a host of petitions seeking a court-monitored inquiry into various aspects of the deal to buy 36 Rafale medium multi-role combat aircraft for Indian Air Force from French aviation giant Dassault.
The petitioners had challenged the pricing of the aircraft, the way the terms of the deal were changed, and the selection of Dassault Reliance Aerospace, a joint venture between a Reliance ADAG company and Dassault, to fulfil the offset partner clause in the deal.
Market reports show that shares of RInfra and RCom gained between 4 per cent and 6 per cent after the court order which was also a huge relief for the Narendra Modi government.
Earlier, Reliance ADAG chairman Anil Ambani had hailed the verdict. "I welcome the judgment of the honourable Supreme Court today summarily dismissing all PILs (public interest litigation) filed on the Rafale contracts, and conclusively establishing the complete falsity of the wild, baseless and politically motivated allegations levelled against Reliance Group and me personally," he said in a statement.
"We remain committed to India's national security and to making our humble contribution towards the Make in India and Skill India policies of the government in the critical area of defence including our offset partnership agreement with our valued partner, Dassault Aviation of France."
The market seems to have picked up from the company's confidence following the Supreme Court order.
RCom shares rose 6.66 per cent to touch an intra-day high of Rs 16.49 per share on the BSE, after opening flat at Rs 15.40 against previous closing price of Rs 15.46, market reports said.
On the National Stock Exchange, the company was trading at Rs 16.05, an increase of 4.22 per cent.
The shares of RInfra shot up 2.93 per cent to trade at Rs 295.20 on BSE. Reliance Power was up 2.14 per cent at Rs 28.65, and Reliance Capital was up 1.04 per cent at Rs 218.95.
