Madras High Court Disposes Of Plea By IOC Against Strike By LPG Transport Owners Association After They Accept State's Proposal

The Madras High Court, on Tuesday, disposed of a petition filed by the Indian Oil Corporation against the strike conducted by the LPG transport owners' association. Justice M Dhandapani disposed of the plea after taking note of the submissions made by Assistant Solicitor General ARL Sundaresan, informing the court that the existing tenders will be allowed to continue the work till 31st March 2026. Since the Southern regional Bulk LPG Transport Owners Association, who were also the respondents in the case, accepted the proposal, the court disposed of the plea. “On instructions, the ASG submits that the existing tenders will be allowed to continue till 31.03.2026. In the meanwhile, the work order will be issued to the successful tenderees. This proposal has been accepted by the 3rd and 4th respondents. This proposal has been taken on record,” the court said. In its plea, the corporation submitted that it had floated a bulk LPG transportation contract by road for the state of Tamil Nadu, along with other oil companies. It was submitted that this contract was for a five-year period till August 31, 2030. It was submitted that after floating of the contract, the 3rd and 4th respondents, who are the office bearers of the Southern Region Bulk LPG Transport Owners' Association at Namakkal, issued an email expressing concerns regarding the tender, stating that it would affect their transport fraternity. The LPG bulk carriers have been protesting since 9th October 2025 (Thursday), urging the oil companies to award contracts. It has also been alleged that the SC/ST reservation system has been misused while issuing contracts. It was also alleged that payments were due, which was causing undue hardship to the members. It was also submitted that the members will be in an aggrieved and agitated state as their livelihoods were being affected. In its plea, the corporation submitted that it had ensured due representation of SC/ST entrepreneurs in accordance with the Government of India's guidelines and the bids of the SC/ST bidders has been evaluated as per the guidelines set forth in the tender document. With respect to payment, the corporation submitted that the payments were released and any pending cases would be promptly addressed. It was also submitted that the association's request for taking all the quoted/qualified trucks is not in line with the tender terms and regulations, and the corporation had not mentioned the same in its tender. The corporation submitted that as per the tender conditions and agreement signed by the individual transporters with the corporation, transporters should not resort to a strike, which is termed illegal, as the contract had already been given to the transporters for running their trucks. It was submitted that the individual operators did not have any grievance but the association was trying to put pressure on IOCL by forcing a strike. The corporation thus argued that the strike was illegal and intended to disrupt the operation/supplies from the plants. It was also pointed out that if the transports were aggrieved, they could seek out legal remedies as per the contract. When the matter was taken up today, ASG ARL Sundaresan informed the court that tenders had been floated and finalised for the transportation of bulk LPG, but the work order has not been issued to the respective tenderees. It was also submitted that, though the existing tenders had expired, the individual operators would be allowed to continue till March 31, 2026. Since the operators accepted this proposal and decided to call of the protests, the court disposed of the plea taking note of the same. Case Title: M/s Indian Oil Corporation Limited v. The Commissioner of Civil Supplies and Consumer and Others Citation: 2025 LiveLaw (Mad) 354 Case No: WP 39050 of 2025Click Here To Read/Download The Judgment

Madras High Court Disposes Of Plea By IOC Against Strike By LPG Transport Owners Association After They Accept State's Proposal

Upasana Sajeev

Tags