New Delhi: An application will be heard by the Delhi High Court on Wednesday to seek a directive to the Central government asking it to disclose the formula over which the daily prices of petrol and diesel are maintained.

A bench comprising of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice V Kameswar Rao will hear the plea.

The plea was filed by one Pooja Mahajan, a Delhi-based designer through her advocate A Maitri. The plea sought for a direction to call the records from the government which included oil companies to disclose the formula and to furnish all details that make known the basis on which the daily prices of petrol and diesel are fixed by the government.

The petitioner also said that the general people were the ones who were suffering irreparably due to the fact that prices were being increased on presumption.

The advocate went into the details of how the government’s formula for increasing rates was working in the background. He said that oil manufacturing companies were selling their old stock of petrol and diesel at increased prices while the same was purchased at a very cheap rate earlier to that.

The official claim is that the prices of petrol and diesel are being fixed on account of increase in international prices. But the fact is that the crude oil price is being fixed on barrel basis, the plea said.

“A barrel is a unit of mass meaning thereby that crude oil is being sold in the international market on mass/weight of the crude oil but here in India and diesel are being sold on liter basis, without taking care of density/mass of petrol/diesel,” the plea said.

“On account of the above-stated methodology being followed all over India, the public at large is suffering every day as they are paying the enhanced cost on barrel basis but in return their getting the liquid petrol/liquid diesel on volume basis.”

The petitioner filed the application on the pending public interest litigation in which she has sought direction to the Central government to fix a “fair price” of both the fossil fuels due to the fact that it is policy matter which is a big concern for the public.

A similar plea was filed by Pooja Mahajan in July, but the High Court had then directed the Centre to treat the PIL as a representation.

The petitioner in her plea has sought for a directive to the government at the Centre to fix a “fair price” of petrol and diesel in line with the Essential Commodities Act.

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