Supreme Court admits fixing Petrol prices government prerogative

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has rejected a petition to fix the price of petroleum products. It falls within the domain of the government, it said while rejecting a PIL filed by former MP PC Thomas.

"The price fixation is in the legislative domain. It requires some expertise," said a bench comprising Chief Justice S H Kapadia and A K Patnaik on Monday.

The Kerala high court had dismissed Thomas' plea earlier, saying that the SC had refused to hear a PIL filed by an NGO on the same issue.

The apex court had declined to entertain the plea of an NGO, which had challenged the deregulation of petroleum prices and their determination by public sector oil marketing companies.

Thomas had in his petition raised the same issues, saying he was aggrieved by the "irrational and hypothetical" fixation of price for various types of petroleum products, which come under Essential Commodities Act, 1955, by the Oil Marketing Companies in India.

He had contended such fixation of price was on account of "arbitrary and irrational" method of pricing by adopting the Import Parity Price by the government.

In the earlier petition, the apex court had said "we cannot decide on pricing. It is a policy and legislative matter. We will not interfere in it. The court will not engage itself in petroleum prices which are administered." the bench said.