Supreme Court Orders Status Quo On Ethanol
The Supreme Court has ordered status quo on ethanol supply allocation for 2025-26 while hearing BPCL’s challenge to a Karnataka High Court order that could affect the Centre’s nationwide ethanol blending programme.
Supreme Court Ethanol Order
A vacation bench of the Supreme Court issued notices to the Union government and 23 distilleries while hearing Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited’s appeal against the Karnataka High Court direction.
The court said the existing ethanol supply allocation should continue until the next hearing. The matter relates to the allocation of ethanol to oil marketing companies for the 2025-26 supply year.
BPCL Challenges Karnataka High Court Order
BPCL challenged the Karnataka High Court’s direction asking oil marketing companies to consider representations from distilleries seeking higher ethanol allocation. The company argued that reopening allocations already finalised for 2025-26 could disrupt the national ethanol blending framework.
Attorney General R Venkataramani told the court that ethanol supply contracts for 2025-26 had already been finalised in October 2025. He also submitted that similar petitions were pending before different high courts.
Ethanol Blending Policy Under Focus
The Centre told the Supreme Court that the issue has wider policy implications because ethanol blending is part of India’s national energy strategy. The E20 programme aims to blend 20% ethanol with petrol to reduce fossil fuel dependence and support domestic ethanol producers.
The government is expected to file transfer petitions so that related cases pending in different high courts can be heard together. For now, the Supreme Court’s order ensures that no immediate change is made to the current ethanol allocation system.
