India Supreme Court CNG monopoly scheme goes way beyond judicial authority, wrongly appropriates executive role

Diesel Fuel News, June 10, 2002

A Times of India editorial last month concluded that the CNG monopoly-pushing India Supreme Court is losing its proper legal place in society. "The lines between a judiciary that is socially responsive and one that is willy-nilly taking over the role of the executive are increasingly getting blurred in the case pertaining to pollution in Delhi being heard by the Supreme Court," the Times editorialized.

"When the apex court mandated that CNG would be the sole fuel for use in all public transport vehicles in the national capital, there were already sufficient grounds for arguing that the judiciary had stepped outside its turf. Now, the Supreme Court has asked for a probe into the recent hike in CNG prices by Indraprastha Gas Ltd. on the grounds that the hike appears to be mala fide." Ordering such a probe not only is outside the bounds of Supreme Court authority, it defies logic, since the executive branch should investigate possible monopolistic pricing, the Times pointed out. "It cannot be for the courts to determine what the price of various fuels should be and whether or not a particular price hike is warranted," the editors said.