The SC has sought replies from the Centre and RIL on a PIL filed by CPI MP Gurudas Dasgupta, who has alleged that no due diligence was done by the government while increasing the prices of natural gas
The government’s decision to raise the prices of natural gas came under judicial scrutiny with the Supreme Court on Monday agreeing to examine the matter and issued notices to the Centre and Reliance Industries (RIL).
A Bench headed by Chief Justice P Sathasivam has sought replies from the Centre and RIL on a PIL (public interest litigation) filed by CPI MP Gurudas Dasgupta, who has alleged that no due diligence was done by the government while increasing the prices of natural gas.
It said that the issue raised by the senior member of Parliament needs examination and the petition cannot be rejected at the initial stage.
The court directed the parties to file their replies within four weeks and posted the matter for further hearing on 6th September.
The government has decided to increase the prices of natural gas from $4.2 per million British thermal unit (mBtu) to $8.4 mBtu from 1 April 2014.
The new $8.4 mBtu price, which will be reviewed every three months, will uniformly apply to all gas producers, including state-owned firms like Oil India and Oil & Natural Gas Corporation and private companies like RIL.
Senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, appearing for the MP, submitted that the decision to raise the price needs to be reviewed as the Petroleum Minister has over-ruled the opinion of senior officers of the ministry and his predecessor.
Dasgupta, who was present during the hearing, told reporters after coming out of the courtroom that he had to file the PIL as the Prime Minister failed to take any action on his complaint given to him.
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