Supreme Court dismisses PIL seeking ethanol content disclosure at petrol pumps

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a public interest litigation seeking directions to state-run oil marketing companies to display the percentage of ethanol on every fuel-dispensing nozzle at petrol pumps and disclose it on fuel bills.

A bench of Justices M M Sundresh and P B Varale rejected the petition while asking petitioner Narendra Kumar Goswami, an advocate, to "approach a competent authority" on the issue.

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Goswami told the court that consumers have a right to know the ethanol content of the petrol they purchase.

Attorney general R Venkataramani, however, described the PIL as "proxy litigation" and pointed out that the Supreme Court had previously rejected various challenges to the government's ethanol-blending policy.

Goswami said he was not challenging the policy but was only seeking disclosure of the ethanol content in petrol.

Seeking greater transparency in the nationwide rollout of ethanol-blended petrol, Goswami wanted Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum to display the exact ethanol percentage at petrol pumps and on dispensing nozzles, and disclose it on every fuel bill or invoice.

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He also sought publication of an official public database searchable by manufacturer, model, engine type and year of manufacture, indicating which ethanol blends are suitable for each vehicle.

The PIL also sought a vehicle-wise compatibility database indicating which vehicle models are suitable for various ethanol blends. The petition argued that the state may encourage or incentivise ethanol blending, but cannot compel citizens to expose their vehicles to possible risks without transparency.

Goswami also sought the constitution of an expert committee comprising representatives from the petroleum ministry, road transport ministry, consumer bodies, automobile engineers, fuel technologists, environmental experts, public health experts and water resource experts.