The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a petition seeking a direction that petrol pumps must label the percentage of ethanol blended in petrol being dispensed at fuel stations and that the ethanol content must be printed on fuel bills and receipts.

The bench comprising Justice MM Sundresh and Justice Prasanna B Varale granted liberty to the petitioner, advocate N.K. Goswami, to approach the concerned High Court with his grievances.

During the hearing, Goswami argued that consumers have a right to know the composition of the fuel they are purchasing and pointed to the absence of any ethanol-content disclosure on petrol receipts.

“See the receipt, there is no mention of ethanol. I have the right to know,” Goswami submitted.

He added the Attorney General had described the ethanol-blending programme as an "experiment" in an earlier hearing, and said that the Government later issued a clarification denying such a statement being made. He sought an assurance from the Centre on the issue.

The Attorney General for India, however, objected to the manner in which the matter was being pursued, saying, "He wants the Govt of India to be answerable to him!"

Goswami responded that the demand was not for his personal benefit but concerned the rights of citizens. “Not to me, to the citizens of India. We have right to know what we are purchasing,” he argued.

The Attorney General also described the petition as a “proxy petition”, while pointing out that the Supreme Court had dismissed a similar plea last year.

The Court ultimately declined to entertain the matter, while leaving it open to the petitioner to seek appropriate relief before the High Court.

What the petition sought

Among its principal prayers was a direction to the authorities to make prominent and uniform disclosure of the exact ethanol percentage on every petrol dispensing nozzle.

It also sought directions requiring every fuel invoice, receipt or bill to clearly state the percentage of ethanol in the petrol sold.

The petitioner additionally sought an official, publicly accessible, vehicle-wise compatibility database, searchable by manufacturer, model, engine type and year of manufacture, indicating the suitability of different ethanol blends for individual vehicles.

Another prayer sought a transparent transition framework for older or non-compatible vehicles, including consideration of making lower-ethanol petrol available where technically, economically and logistically feasible.

The petition also proposed the constitution of an independent expert committee comprising representatives from the Petroleum Ministry, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Bureau of Indian Standards, ARAI/ICAT, consumer organisations, automobile engineers, fuel technologists, environmental and public-health experts and water-resource specialists.

The proposed committee was asked to examine several aspects of the ethanol-blending programme, including:

• Real-world compatibility of E20 fuel with India's existing vehicle fleet;
• Its impact on fuel efficiency, engine life and maintenance costs;
• Warranty and insurance implications;
• The overall environmental impact, including tail-pipe emissions and water consumption associated with ethanol production; and
• Food-security and feed-diversion concerns linked to ethanol production.

It also asked the Supreme Court to require the government to place before it policy files, technical studies, compatibility reports, safety standards, consumer advisories and records of public consultation underlying the compulsory rollout of E20 petrol.

The petition further sought a national Consumer Disclosure Protocol for ethanol-blended petrol, to be prepared in consultation with the Central Consumer Protection Authority and the Bureau of Indian Standards.

Case : NARENDRA KUMAR GOSWAMI Vs UNION OF INDIA | W.P.(C) No. 887/2026