Supreme Court to hear plea on ethanol labelling at petrol pumps on August 31

The Supreme Court is set to hear a petition on August 31 seeking a direction to the Centre and other authorities to ensure mandatory and uniform labelling at every petrol pump dispensing nozzle, disclosing the exact percentage of ethanol blended in petrol.

According to the apex court's causelist for August 31, the plea will come up before a bench comprising Justices M M Sundresh and Prasanna B Varale.

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The petition, filed by Narendra Kumar Goswami, also seeks a direction requiring every fuel invoice to specifically and legibly state the percentage of ethanol present in the petrol sold.

The plea asks the court to direct the Centre and other respondents to prepare and publish, within a stipulated time, an official and publicly searchable vehicle-wise compatibility database searchable by manufacturer, model, engine type and year of manufacture — indicating the suitability of various ethanol blends for each vehicle.

It further seeks the constitution of an independent expert committee, comprising representatives from the ministries of petroleum and natural gas, and road transport and highways, along with the Bureau of Indian Standards and independent automobile engineers, to examine and submit a public report on the real-world vehicle compatibility of E20 fuel across the existing vehicle fleet.

According to the petition, this committee should also report on the impact of ethanol blending on fuel efficiency, engine longevity, maintenance costs, and warranty and insurance implications. The report should additionally cover the net environmental footprint — including tailpipe emissions and water consumption linked to ethanol production as well as food-security and feed-diversion concerns allegedly arising from the blending programme.

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The plea seeks a direction to frame a national consumer disclosure protocol for all ethanol-blended petrol, to be formulated in consultation with the Central Consumer Protection Authority and the Bureau of Indian Standards.

It also asks that authorities be directed to place before the Supreme Court all policy files, technical studies, compatibility reports, safety standards, consumer advisories, and records of public consultation that support the compulsory roll-out of E20 fuel.

Additionally, the plea calls for a transparent, time-bound transition framework for legacy and non-compatible vehicles, including consideration of designated availability of lower-ethanol petrol wherever technically, economically and logistically feasible, backed by a reasoned decision supported by expert material and public consultation.

(With inputs from PTI)