New Delhi: The office of Attorney General R Venkataramani has issued an explicit clarification to assert that the Central Government never told the Supreme Court that its E20 fuel blending initiative is an ongoing “experiment”. The formal statement from the top law officer’s office was released through the Ministry of Law and Justice after multiple media outlets reported that such a submission had been made during a high-stakes judicial hearing concerning an ethanol allocation dispute.
The official clarification strongly refuted the media narratives, stating in explicit terms that at no stage of the proceedings was any submission made describing the Government’s Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme or the E20 blending framework as an experiment. The statement further clarified that any media suggestions hinting otherwise are entirely incorrect and do not represent the actual legal arguments put forth on behalf of the Union of India.
Setting the record straight on the courtroom exchange, the clarification noted that the Attorney General had merely informed the Supreme Court that several identical writ petitions regarding the allocation of ethanol to Dedicated Ethanol Plants are currently pending across various state High Courts. The government informed the apex court that Transfer Petitions are actively being filed to move these scattered cases to the Supreme Court. This coordination aims to resolve common legal interpretations arising from the same contractual framework under one roof, thereby avoiding parallel legal proceedings and eliminating the possibility of conflicting judicial decisions. The statement emphasized that this consolidation is crucial for the expeditious resolution of the litigation so that regular ethanol supplies to Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) remain unaffected, ensuring the national programme successfully maintains its 20 per cent blending target with petrol throughout the year.
Following these detailed submissions by the Attorney General, a Supreme Court bench comprising Justice MM Sundresh and Justice Sheel Nagu ordered a status quo on Tuesday regarding a recent Karnataka High Court judgment. The temporary freeze halts the high court’s June 16 directive which had ordered an enhancement of ethanol allocation for the Ethanol Supply Year (ESY) 2025-26. The interim stay was granted on a petition filed by Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) challenging the high court’s ruling, with the top court issuing notices to the involved parties and scheduling the matter for a detailed hearing immediately after the conclusion of the summer vacation.
