The Delhi High Court has upheld the decision of the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (Aptel) to include Reliance Industries in a case concerning the designation of a pipeline. This pipeline, built by oil companies BPCL and HPCL, was being considered for use by other entities for transporting petroleum and petroleum products.
A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora dismissed BPCL’s appeal against Aptel’s decision. The court upheld the single judge’s order, which refused to interfere with Aptel’s ruling.
The issue arose when PSU oil companies questioned whether the pipeline, primarily intended for transporting Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) from Mumbai refinery to Mumbai International Airport, could be used by others under Section 20 of the PNGRB Act.
BPCL and HPCL argued against including Reliance in the proceedings, fearing it would open doors for other parties like airlines to interfere unnecessarily.
However, Reliance countered, stating that the process was initiated by them and they had a stake in the matter. They argued that if the Board had decided against declaring the pipelines as contract carriers, they would have appealed, making them a necessary party.
BPCL and HPCL had challenged a Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board order designating their pipelines as common carriers. In 2016, Reliance requested the Board to declare the aviation turbine fuel pipelines from BPCL and HPCL refineries as common carriers. Aptel allowed Reliance to join the case last November, a decision strongly opposed by the PSU oil companies.
