Kottayam and Idukki District Petroleum, KES and Company, IOC Delaer, JAK and Company, HPC Dealer and Thara Petroleum Agencies vs Union of India (UOI) and Others

S. Siri Jagan, J.—The 1st petitioner is an association of petroleum dealers in Kottayam and Idukki districts. Petitioners 2 to 4 are petroleum dealers who are members of the 1st petitioner association. Their grievance in this writ petition is that oil companies who supply petroleum products to their dealers do not supply the same in standard litres. They would submit that a standard litre means one litre of petroleum product at 15 degree centigrade. According to them, oil companies themselves transact in petroleum products on the basis of the volume of petroleum products at 15 degree centigrade. But that practice is not being followed by the oil companies when they supply petroleum products to the dealers at their outlets, insofar as at the time of supply of the petroleum products at the outlets, temperature would be far higher than 15 degree centigrade. The petitioners submit that that would give the oil companies undue advantage and would give them opportunity to unjustly enrich themselves. They, therefore, would contend that appropriate standardization should be made in respect of supply of petroleum products to their outlets. They would submit that, by Ext.P1, the Government of India had evolved a standardization process which is not being followed by the oil companies. Airing their grievances, the petitioners have submitted Ext.P3 representation before the 1st respondent. The petitioners seek a direction to the 1st respondent to consider and pass orders on Ext.P3 expeditiously.

Although I had directed the learned Assistant Solicitor General to get instructions from the 1st respondent as to whether they have any objections in their considering Ext.P3, the Assistant Solicitor General now submits that the file has been handed over to the Central Government Counsel who has some inconvenience today. It is further submitted that instructions from the 1st respondent have not yet been received.

Insofar as the only direction called for in this writ petition is to direct the 1st respondent to pass orders on Ext.P3, I do not think it necessary to await further instructions from the 1st respondent. Accordingly, this writ petition is disposed of with the following directions;

The 1st respondent shall take up and pass orders on Ext.P3 after affording an opportunity of being head to a representative of the petitioners and the oil companies, as expeditiously as possible, at any rate, within two months from the date of receipt of a certified copy of this judgment. It would be open to the petitioners to request the 1st respondent to obtain a report in this matter from the 6th respondent, who is stated to be the expert agency competent to give advice regarding the matter, which shall also be appropriately considered by the 1st respondent.