New Delhi: The Office of the Attorney General (AG) of India has dismissed as false, media reports claiming that the Centre had described its Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme, including the 20 per cent ethanol blending (E20) initiative, as an “ongoing experiment” before the Supreme Court.
In a clarification, the AG’s office stated that certain reports published on Tuesday had incorrectly attributed submissions to Attorney General R. Venkataramani — the Centre’s highest law officer — during the hearing of a special leave petition (SLP) filed by Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) in the ethanol allocation matter.
“The reports state that the Government’s 20 per cent Ethanol Blended Petrol (E20) Programme is ‘still an ongoing experiment’ and that ‘the impact of the policy would become clearer by next year’. These reports are completely false and do not reflect anything even close to the actual submissions made before the Hon’ble Court,” the clarification said.
Rejecting the reports in categorical terms, the AG’s office said: “At no stage was any submission made that the Government’s Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme or the E20 blending programme is an ‘experiment’. It is clarified in explicit terms that any suggestion that the Government described the E20 programme before the Hon’ble Supreme Court as an ‘experiment’ is incorrect and does not represent the submissions made on behalf of the Union of India.”
The clarification said that during the hearing, AG Venkataramani had informed the apex court that similar writ petitions involving identical issues relating to ethanol allocation to dedicated ethanol plants were pending before different High Courts.
It was submitted that transfer petitions were being filed before the Supreme Court so that common questions of law arising out of the same contractual framework could be decided together, avoiding parallel proceedings and the possibility of conflicting judicial decisions.
According to the AG’s office, the move would also facilitate expeditious resolution of the litigation to ensure that ethanol supplies to oil marketing companies for maintaining 20 per cent blending with petrol throughout the year remain unaffected under the national Ethanol Blended Petrol Programme.
The clarification further stated that, after considering these submissions, the Supreme Court directed that the proposed transfer petitions be filed and that status quo be maintained regarding ethanol allocation for the current Ethanol Supply Year (ESY) 2025–26, while hearing BPCL’s SLP against a Karnataka High Court judgment that had ordered reconsideration of the allocation made to dedicated ethanol manufacturer VINP Distilleries and Sugars Pvt. Ltd.
The AG’s Office also urged members of the media to report judicial proceedings with due accuracy, particularly in matters involving important national policy initiatives.
(IANS)
