AG never told Supreme Court E20 fuel is an experiment; media reports false: Centre clarifies

The office of Attorney General (AG) R Venkataramani on June 30 issued a clarification that the Central government never told the Supreme Court that the government’s E20 fuel programme is an “experiment”..The clarification came after several media reports published on June 30 claimed that the Attorney General had told the Supreme Court that the government’s programme to achieve 20 per cent ethanol blending in petrol was “still an ongoing experiment” and that its impact would become clearer next year.The reports had said that the AG made such a submission during a recent hearing before the top court in an ethanol allocation dispute.The AG’s office termed these reports “completely false” and said they did not reflect “anything even close” to the submissions made before the Court.“At no stage was any submission made that the Government’s Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme or the E20 blending programme is an ‘experiment’,” the clarification said.It added that any suggestion that the government had described the E20 programme before the Supreme Court as an experiment was “incorrect” and did not represent the submissions made on behalf of the Union of India..The clarification pertained to proceedings before the Supreme Court on June 30 in a plea filed by Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) challenging a Karnataka High Court order directing oil marketing companies to revisit ethanol allocations for the 2025-26 supply year.According to the AG’s office, the Attorney General had informed the Supreme Court that similar petitions involving the allocation of ethanol to Dedicated Ethanol Plants were pending before different High Courts across the country..He submitted that transfer petitions would be filed before the Supreme Court so that all such matters involving common questions of law arising out of the same contractual framework could be heard together, thereby avoiding conflicting decisions.The AG’s clarification said that he had told the Court that an expeditious resolution of the litigation was necessary to ensure that ethanol supplies to oil marketing companies remain unaffected so that the government’s target of maintaining 20 per cent ethanol blending in petrol throughout the year under the Ethanol Blended Petrol Programme is not disrupted..Supreme Court orders status quo on Karnataka HC direction to revisit ethanol allocation after BPCL says it will affect E20 fuel programme.In its clarification, the AG’s office urged members of the media to report court proceedings accurately, particularly in matters concerning important national policy initiatives.