The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a plea seeking mandatory disclosure of the exact ethanol content in petrol sold at fuel stations across India, but allowed the petitioner to approach the competent authority. A bench comprising Justices M M Sundresh and Prasanna B Varale heard the petition filed by advocate Narendra Kumar Goswami, who sought to make disclosure of ethanol content in petrol mandatory and uniform across petrol pumps. The court questioned why Goswami had approached the Supreme Court directly instead of first moving the High Court, raising questions about his locus and asking about his professional practice, while suggesting that he approach the High Court. According to the apex court's causelist, the plea would come up for hearing before the bench, with the petitioner contending that he has the right to know the content of the petrol given at fuel pumps and that citizens at large should be informed about the composition of fuel given to them.
The petition calls for directing the respondents to frame a national consumer disclosure protocol for all ethanol-blended petrol, in consultation with the Central Consumer Protection Authority and the Bureau of Indian Standards. It also seeks directions to the concerned authorities to place before the apex 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. The plea calls on authorities to formulate and publish within a time-bound period a transparent 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. Goswami argued that consumers have a right to know the composition of petrol, drawing a comparison with ingredient disclosures on packaged food products, according to Bar and Bench.
The plea seeks the Centre and others to prepare and publish within a stipulated time an official, public, vehicle-wise compatibility database searchable by manufacturer, model, engine type and year of manufacture, indicating the suitability or otherwise of various ethanol blends for each vehicle. As per the petition, it demands the constitution of an independent expert committee comprising representatives from the ministries of petroleum and natural gas, road transport and highways, the Bureau of Indian Standards and others, including independent automobile engineers, to examine and submit a public report on real-world vehicle compatibility of E20 across the existing fleet. The committee should also submit a report on the impact on fuel efficiency, engine longevity and maintenance costs, warranty and insurance implications, the net environmental footprint, including tail-pipe emissions and water consumption associated with ethanol production, and food-security and feed-diversion concerns allegedly arising from the blending programme.
Attorney General R Venkataramani, appearing for the Centre, opposed the plea and referred to earlier Supreme Court proceedings in which challenges to the government's ethanol blending policy had been dismissed. The AG argued that the petitioner wants government of India to be answerable to him and that the petitioner should approach the jurisdictional high court for relief. Goswami maintained that his petition was different because it did not seek to invalidate or stop the ethanol blending programme, instead seeking greater transparency over the fuel being sold to consumers. The bench ultimately declined to entertain the petition and disposed of the matter, giving Goswami liberty to approach the competent authority, with the ruling coming amid continuing debate over ethanol-blended petrol and whether motorists should receive greater information and choice at fuel stations.
