Flaying the frequent rise in the petrol price, the Kerala High Court on Friday said that the Central and State governments cannot wash their hands off and directed the Indian Oil Corporation and Reliance Petroleum so as to prepare their balance sheets and quarterly reports and to produce before it within a period of three weeks.
The Division bench comprising of justices C.N. Ramachandran Nair and Justice P.S. Gopinathan, said in oral observations that within a short span of one year, there had been a forty per cent rise in the petroleum prices, causing immense hardships to the common man.
A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) put forward by former MP P.C. Thomas against the crisis of petroleum price rise was coming up, which said that the political parties are making protests and there is no consumer resistance. And therefore they are concerned about the price hike.
The court added that this hike in the petrol price would seriously affect two sets of people, firstly the two-wheeler riders and secondly the small car owners and the not the rich section of the society as they already own premium diesel cars.
The counsel appearing for the State Government argued that the PIL which was put forward by the former MP Thomas was politically motivated and hence should not be considered. The court in reply said that the politics involves public interest also and admitted it.
The court also directed the central and State government to file their counter affidavits within three weeks, besides asking the two oil companies to produce their balance sheets and quarterly reports. The court, however said, while granting authority for fixing prices of petroleum products is a policy matter of the Central Government and it cannot interfere in the present hike.
Earlier, the MP Thomas had filed a PIL challenging the price hike and the grant of authority to oil companies in fixing the prices.
The oil companies was again planning to increase the petrol price, the petitioner noted and sought that the hike to be stayed, which was not allowed by the court stating that since the price hike is a national issue, the court cannot stay the present hike.
News reported by AR for Newsvision
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