New Delhi: The Office of the Attorney General for India has rejected certain media reports published on June 30, 2026, saying they incorrectly reported submissions made before the Supreme Court in a case concerning ethanol allocation to Oil Marketing Companies, including BPCL.
According to the clarification, some reports claimed that the Government’s 20% Ethanol Blended Petrol programme, commonly known as E20, was described in court as “still an ongoing experiment” and that “the impact of the policy would become clearer by next year.”
The Attorney General’s Office said these reports were “completely false” and did not reflect “anything even close to the actual submissions made before the Hon’ble Court.”
The matter arose from a Special Leave Petition filed by Oil Marketing Companies, including Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, relating to ethanol allocation. The proceedings concern the allocation of ethanol to Dedicated Ethanol Plants and involve issues that, according to the Attorney General’s Office, are also pending before different High Courts.
During the hearing, the learned Attorney General informed the Supreme Court that similar writ petitions involving identical issues were pending in multiple High Courts. The court was told that Transfer Petitions were being filed to bring such matters before the Supreme Court.
The objective, according to the submission, was to allow common questions of legal interpretation arising from the same contractual framework to be considered together. This, the Attorney General’s Office said, would help avoid parallel proceedings and the possibility of conflicting decisions.
The clarification also stated that such consolidation was likely to support faster resolution of the litigation, ensuring that ethanol supplies to Oil Marketing Companies are not affected. The supplies are required to maintain 20% blending with petrol throughout the year under the Ethanol Blended Petrol Programme, which the clarification described as a national programme.
Following these submissions, the Supreme Court viewed that the proposed Transfer Petitions should be filed and that status quo be maintained with respect to ethanol allocation for the current Ethanol Supply Year 2025-26, insofar as the present matter is concerned.
The Attorney General’s Office made it clear that no submission was made before the Supreme Court describing the Ethanol Blended Petrol Programme or the E20 blending programme as an “experiment.” In other words, the courtroom discussion, as per the clarification, was about legal coordination and ethanol allocation — not about putting national fuel policy on a laboratory table.
“It is clarified in explicit terms that any suggestion that the Government described the E20 programme before the Hon’ble Supreme Court as an ‘experiment’ is incorrect and does not represent the submissions made on behalf of the Union of India,” the statement said.
The clarification ended with a request to the media to report judicial proceedings with due accuracy, especially in matters involving important national policy initiatives.
The episode underlines the sensitivity around India’s ethanol blending programme, which has become a key part of the country’s broader energy and fuel strategy. While the legal proceedings will continue on allocation-related issues, the Attorney General’s Office has drawn a firm line between courtroom submissions and public interpretation of them.
