Read Time: 06 minutes

A Supreme Court bench of Abdul Nazeer and Krishna Murari has refused to interfere in the plea filed by the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) against increase in prices for bulk diesel sold by state-owned oil marketing companies.

Justice Nazeer remarked on the matter, “You are a state that pays lifelong pension to ministerial staff who served merely for two years. You have so much money. We read this in the newspaper.”

He then asked the transport corporation to approach the High Court in this regard after Sr. Adv. V. Giri, appearing for the transport corporation sought liberty to do so.

KSRTC has moved the Supreme Court challenging the decision of the state-owned oil marketing companies (OMCs) to sell diesel in bulk to KSRTC at a price significantly higher than even the market price of diesel.

The plea filed through Adv. Deepak Prakash states that, "This is further burdening the petitioner corporation (KSRTC), which is already suffering exponential financial crisis year after year, which will eventually render shutting down of the Petitioner Corporation (KSRTC) inevitable."

KSRTC has alleged that despite saving a huge amount of money in terms of agency commissions and logistical expenses, the state-owned OMCs are not selling diesel in bulk as per the present retail market rate to the petitioner corporation.

The plea says, "The average consumption of diesel by the Petitioner Corporation is around 4,10,000 litres per day. The decision of the state-owned OMCs to increase the fuel price of bulk purchase of diesel will result in an approximate accumulated loss of around Rs. 19,00,000/- (Rupees Nineteen Lakhs), which will add to the currently persisting acute financial crisis being suffered by the Petitioner, and lead the Corporation to stop functioning."

It further alleges that, "There is no rhyme or logic in the decision of the OMCs to demand amount in excess of the daily deregulated market price. The policy of dual pricing of fuel has come to an end after the government decided to deregulate the price of fuel in the country whereby subsidies granted to the retail consumers were taken away."

The plea informed the Apex Court that the "Corporation is a Public Sector Undertaking, the only state-owned Road Transport Corporation within the state of Kerala, the sole objective of which is to serve the public at large by providing them road transport facilities at nominal fares."

Whereas, "Shutting down of the Petitioner would impact millions of people who cannot afford traveling through private road transport companies, owing to their significantly high fares," the plea added.

Cause Title: Kerala State Road Transport Corporation through its Chairman & Managing Director vs Union of India & Ors.