The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a plea for quashing a government notification to confer Padma Vibhushan in 2016 on late Dhirubhai Ambani, the founder of Reliance Industries Ltd. A bench headed by Chief Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar dismissed the plea for withdrawal of the prestigious honour to the noted industrialist.

In his time, he was known as the biggest industrialist of the country. You are not to decide on who should get the Padma Vibhushan. If they give it to you, we cant question, the bench observed. In May 2016, the Delhi High Court had dismissed the plea, saying no public interest was involved in the petition and it was filed just to malign a person.


In the appeal against the High Court order, lawyer P.C. Srivastava had sought a direction to Kokilaben Ambani, widow of Dhirubhai, to return the sanad (certificate) and medallion of Padma Vibhushan which she had received on behalf of her late husband.