The Attorney General for India has denied as false certain media reports claiming that he had told the Supreme Court yesterday that the Government's 20% Ethanol Blended Petrol (E20) Programme is "still an ongoing experiment" and that "the impact of the policy would become clearer by next year."

"These reports are completely false and do not reflect anything even close to the actual submissions made before the Hon'ble Court," the AG's office stated in a clarification issued through the Ministry of Law and Justice.

AG R Venkataramani had yesterday appeared in the Supreme Court for the Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) challenging a Karnataka High Court's order to consider the request made by an ethanol distillery to increase the annual allocation of ethanol. The AG had argued that the High Court's order will destabilise the E20 policy. Considering that, the Supreme Court passed an order of status quo on ethanol supply allocation. The AG had also informed the Court that the Union was seeking to file a transfer petition in the Supreme Court as there are similar matters pending in the High Courts.

As per certain media reports, the AG had submitted that the E20 program was an "ongoing experiment" of which the results would be clear by next year (Note : LiveLaw did not report that the AG made such a submission). Those reports sparked intense debates amongst social media users, who questioned if the Government was imposing E20 petrol on vehicle owners without a clear idea about its results.

In the wake of the social media controversy, the AG's office has issued the present clarification, stating, "At no stage was any submission made that the Government's Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme or the E20 blending programme is an "experiment.""

"It is clarified in explicit terms that any suggestion that the Government described the E20 programme before the Hon'ble Supreme Court as an "experiment" is incorrect and does not represent the submissions made on behalf of the Union of India," the AG's office stated.

The AG also urged the members of the media to report judicial proceedings with due accuracy, particularly in matters involving important national policy initiatives.

LiveLaw's report of the proceedings, which did not claim that the AG termed the E20 policy an experiment, can be read here.