Keeping up the heat on Mukesh Ambani headed-RIL [Get Quote], Reliance Energy Ltd [Get Quote], controlled by younger brother Anil Ambani, on Wednesday accepted the resignations of two directors Amitabha Jhunjhunwala and J Ramachandran, creating vacancies in a bid to force the parent company RIL appoint the new nominees.

A meeting of the REL board, convened on a single point agenda to approve financial results for the quarter ended December 2004, however, asked four other directors, who had quit in the wake of the bitter family battle in the Reliance group, to withdraw their resignations.

The resignations of Jhunjhunwala, a nominee of RIL and a confidante of Anil, and Ramachandran, an independent director, were accepted at the meeting.

The four whole-time directors -- executive vice chairman Satish Sheth, J P Chalasani, S C Gupta and K H Mankad -- who had quit as an expression of solidarity with Anil in November, withdrew their resignations.

Wednesday's developments come in the wake of REL succeeding in getting the Articles of Association amended on appointment of directors by the RIL after the parent company gave up its resistance.

Meanwhile, REL reported a 155 per cent rise in net profit at Rs 135 crore for the third quarter ending December 31, 2004, as against Rs 53 crore in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.