The Madras High Court on Monday set aside an interim stay passed by a single judge last month on selling bulk diesel at market price to the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation as part of Centre’s new diesel pricing policy.
With the lifting of the stay, oil marketing companies IOC, HPCL and BPCL got a temporary reprieve and are able to sell the fuel at market price to these large consumers for the time being.
Acting Chief Justice Rajesh Kumar Agrawal also asked the single judge on Monday to consider the interim application afresh and pass final orders. Till then, bulk purchasers in the state will have to pay market price for diesel, explained C Kanagaraj, pleader for the Union government. Fresh hearing will start once the state government brings the matter to the court again.
A similar interim order preventing sale of bulk diesel at market (non-subsidised) price was recently passed by the Kerala High Court. Bulk diesel accounts for 20% of diesel use in the country. After diesel price deregulation, many bilk consumers ? including state road transport corporations? have turned to retail pumps to reduce their fuel cost.
The interim stay was given by Justice S Rajeswaran on March 14 in Tamil Nadu on the state transport undertaking’s contention that implementing market pricing for diesel for bulk consumers with effect from January 18, 2013, will impact the provision of transport facilities to the public.
The Centre appealed to the division bench on March 25. Oil companies told the division bench there are around 20,000 bulk diesel customers across the country and if all of them move court following the interim injunction by the Madras High Court, oil companies would loose around R400 crore every day. Tamil Nadu has around 1,400 bulk customers.