Centre never called E20 fuel programme an ‘experiment’ in SC: Attorney General's office

Refuting media reports which claimed that the Centre has told the Supreme Court that it’s E20 fuel programme was an “experiment:, the office of Attorney General (AG) R Venkataramani has issued a clarification stating that the reports were “completely false” and did not reflect “anything even close” to the submission made before the apex court.

“At no stage was any submission made that the Government’s Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme or the E20 blending programme is an ‘experiment’,” stated the clarification issued on Tuesday (June 30) as quoted by the Bar and Bench.

It further stated that any suggestion that the Centre has described the E20 programme before the Supreme Court as an experiment was “incorrect” adding that it did not represent the submission made on behalf of the Union of India.

Case before Supreme Court

The clarification related to the proceedings held before the Supreme Court on June 30 in a petition filed by Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL). The company challenged a Karnataka High Court order that instructed oil marketing companies to reconsider their ethanol allocations for the 2025-26 supply year.

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According to the statement, the Attorney General informed the Supreme Court that similar petitions involving ethanol allocation were pending before several High Courts in the country.

Transfer plea planned

He further stated that transfer petitions would be filed before the Supreme Court to ensure that all such matters involving common questions of law arising out of the same contractual framework could be heard together so as to ensure that conflicting decisions can be avoided.

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According to the clarification, the Attorney General told the Supreme Court that the litigation needed to be resolved without delay so that the supply of ethanol to oil marketing companies would continue uninterrupted.

Blending target reiterated

This, it said, was necessary to ensure that the government’s objective of maintaining 20 per cent ethanol blending in petrol throughout the year under the Ethanol Blended Petrol Programme was not affected.

The clarification was issued after a number of media reports published on June 30 alleged that the Attorney General had informed the Supreme Court that the government’s plan to achieve 20 per cent ethanol blending in petrol was “still an ongoing experiment” and that its effects would become clearer next year.