The Supreme Courtroom on Monday refused to entertain a petition looking for a path that petrol pumps should label the share of ethanol blended in petrol being disbursed at gasoline stations and that the ethanol content material should be printed on gasoline payments and receipts.
The bench comprising Justice MM Sundresh and Justice Prasanna B Varale granted liberty to the petitioner, advocate N.Ok. Goswami, to method the involved Excessive Courtroom along with his grievances.
Through the listening to, Goswami argued that buyers have a proper to know the composition of the gasoline they’re buying and pointed to the absence of any ethanol-content disclosure on petrol receipts.
“See the receipt, there isn’t a point out of ethanol. I’ve the precise to know,” Goswami submitted.
He added the Legal professional Common had described the ethanol-blending programme as an “experiment” in an earlier listening to, and mentioned that the Authorities later issued a clarification denying such a press release being made. He sought an assurance from the Centre on the problem.
The Legal professional Common for India, nonetheless, objected to the style through which the matter was being pursued, saying, “He needs the Govt of India to be answerable to him!”
Goswami responded that the demand was not for his private profit however involved the rights of residents. “To not me, to the residents of India. We’ve proper to know what we’re buying,” he argued.
The Legal professional Common additionally described the petition as a “proxy petition”, whereas stating that the Supreme Courtroom had dismissed an identical plea final yr.
The Courtroom in the end declined to entertain the matter, whereas leaving it open to the petitioner to hunt acceptable aid earlier than the Excessive Courtroom.
What the petition sought
Amongst its principal prayers was a path to the authorities to make distinguished and uniform disclosure of the precise ethanol proportion on each petrol shelling out nozzle.
It additionally sought instructions requiring each gasoline bill, receipt or invoice to obviously state the share of ethanol within the petrol offered.
The petitioner moreover sought an official, publicly accessible, vehicle-wise compatibility database, searchable by producer, mannequin, engine kind and yr of manufacture, indicating the suitability of various ethanol blends for particular person automobiles.
One other prayer sought a clear transition framework for older or non-compatible automobiles, together with consideration of constructing lower-ethanol petrol accessible the place technically, economically and logistically possible.
The petition additionally proposed the structure of an unbiased skilled committee comprising representatives from the Petroleum Ministry, Ministry of Highway Transport and Highways, Bureau of Indian Requirements, ARAI/ICAT, shopper organisations, vehicle engineers, gasoline technologists, environmental and public-health specialists and water-resource specialists.
The proposed committee was requested to look at a number of facets of the ethanol-blending programme, together with:
- Actual-world compatibility of E20 gasoline with India’s current car fleet;
- Its affect on gasoline effectivity, engine life and upkeep prices;
- Guarantee and insurance coverage implications;
- The general environmental affect, together with tail-pipe emissions and water consumption related to ethanol manufacturing; and
- Meals-security and feed-diversion issues linked to ethanol manufacturing.
It additionally requested the Supreme Courtroom to require the federal government to put earlier than it coverage information, technical research, compatibility reviews, security requirements, shopper advisories and information of public session underlying the obligatory rollout of E20 petrol.
The petition additional sought a nationwide Client Disclosure Protocol for ethanol-blended petrol, to be ready in session with the Central Client Safety Authority and the Bureau of Indian Requirements.
Case : NARENDRA KUMAR GOSWAMI Vs UNION OF INDIA | W.P.(C) No. 887/2026
