Bombay High Court Closes Plea On LPG Shortage After Centre Assures Issue Being Handled At Diplomatic Levels

The Bombay High Court on Monday closed a petition highlighting the shortage of LPG cylinders for local consumers, after the Central Government assured that it is taking all possible steps both internationally and domestically to ensure there is no hardship to citizens.

A division bench of Justice Anil Kilor and Justice Raj Wakode took into account the affidavit filed through Solicitor General Tushar Mehta which clearly stated that the Central Government is taking all steps to ensure the crisis due to the "emerging changes in the international position" does not affect our country.

"The Union of India is making all possible attempts domestically and internationally to ensure that no hardship is caused to anyone and the distribution and availability remains smooth. There are emerging changes in the international position. The Government of India is monitoring the situation and taking all remedial measures to ensure that such crises at the international level may not affect our country," the affidavit reads.

The Solicitor General told the judges that the Central Government has been handling the issue at "diplomatic levels" and that the court must "trust" the government and consider closing the present petition.

The situation, under such circumstances, the Solicitor General stated, always remain ever evolving and it would essentially be for the Government of India to take steps domestically and internationally in the interest of its citizens.

"By the very nature of the subject matter, it may not be desirable to discuss or debate these issues in court proceedings. If there are any local issues which may be the result of an individual dereliction of duty or breach of law of any wholesale or retail distributor, strict actions are being taken and shall continue to be taken by the competent authorities," the affidavit reads. The affidavit further stated that since the issue involved in the present plea impacts not few districts but beyond that, therefore, the court must leave it to Central Goverment and the respective State Governments to deal with the situation in the best possible manner in larger public interest.

The judges, having considered the submissions of Mehta and also the contentions made in the affidavit, closed the petitions.

Notably, the present plea was filed by six distributors associated with Confidence Petroleum India Limited (CPIL) seeking directions to increase the supply of household LPG cylinders. The petitioners contended that despite policy directions issued by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas prioritising LPG supply for domestic consumers, the company had failed to augment the supply of household cylinders.

They alleged that the company had not acted on repeated representations made by distributors seeking a halt to LPG exports and an increase in supply to the domestic market.

According to the plea, disruptions in global crude supply arising from the Iran–Israel conflict had affected the movement of oil from countries such as Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Syria, leading to constraints in LPG production. In view of the emerging supply situation, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas had issued orders directing that LPG production and supply for domestic consumers be given priority, the petition stated.

The distributors approached the court through advocates Shyam Dewani and Saahil Dewani.