SC Refuses PIL Seeking Mandatory Ethanol Labelling at Petrol Pumps

The Supreme Court on Monday declined to entertain a PIL seeking directions to the Centre and other authorities to make ethanol-content labelling mandatory and uniform on every petrol dispensing nozzle across the country.

A bench of Justices MM Sundresh and PB Varale said petitioner Narendra Kumar Goswami could approach the jurisdictional High Court for relief instead of invoking Article 32, which allows citizens to directly approach the Supreme Court for enforcement of fundamental rights.

Appearing for himself, Goswami argued that consumers have a right to know the composition of petrol being sold to them. He said information about the ethanol content should be made available not only to him but to citizens at large.

The bench directed Goswami to raise his contentions before the appropriate High Court. Attorney General R Venkataramani, appearing for the Centre, opposed the plea, describing it as “proxy litigation” and pointing out that the Supreme Court had earlier dismissed a petition concerning a similar issue.

The PIL also sought directions requiring fuel invoices to clearly mention the percentage of ethanol in the petrol sold to consumers.

Beyond labelling, the plea sought creation of an official, publicly accessible vehicle-wise compatibility database. The proposed database would allow users to check the suitability of different ethanol blends based on vehicle manufacturer, model, engine type and year of manufacture.

Goswami further sought an independent expert committee comprising representatives from the Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry, Road Transport and Highways Ministry, Bureau of Indian Standards and independent automobile engineers.

The committee was proposed to examine the real-world compatibility of E20 petrol with existing vehicles and assess its impact on fuel efficiency, engine longevity, maintenance costs, warranties and insurance.

The petition also sought an assessment of ethanol blending’s environmental and food-security implications, including tailpipe emissions, water consumption during ethanol production and possible diversion of food crops for fuel.