Transfer of proceedings from judicial officer can't be merely on apprehension of bias: Bombay HC
Mumbai (PTI): The Bombay High Court has said transfer of proceedings from a judicial officer cannot be done on mere allegation by one party, and dismissed a petition of the Lilavati Hospital's trust founder alleging bias against the Charity Commissioner.
A single bench of Justice Sharmila Deshmukh last month refused to transfer the proceedings pertaining to a dispute between the trustees from the Charity Commissioner to any other judicial officer, noting there was no reasonable apprehension of bias or prejudice.
The HC said passing of an adverse order cannot be the foundation for seeking transfer of proceedings.
"It is necessary to ensure for securing the ends of justice that a mere allegation is differentiated from an apprehension and what is required is a reasonable apprehension. An absence of congenial atmosphere cannot be a ground for transfer," it said.
The court dismissed the petition filed by the Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Medical Trust founder Charu Mehta and permanent trustees Rajesh Mehta and Prashant Mehta, seeking transfer of all proceedings pertaining to the trust from the Charity Commissioner to any other judicial officer while alleging bias.
The petitioners are embroiled in a dispute with the other trustees over control of the trust and the Lilavati Hospital.
"In my view the apprehension of the petitioners lacks foundation," the judge said.
The adverse orders passed by the Charity Commissioner against the petitioners cannot be said to be the result of a "pre-judged mind and cannot form the basis for reasonable apprehension that justice will not be done by the Charity Commissioner while adjudicating the proceedings," the HC said.
The court noted that transfer of proceedings from a court or a quasi-judicial officer is usually viewed as a suspicion being cast on the conduct of proceedings by the judicial officer and hence transfer cannot be based on mere allegation.
Earlier this year, the Charity Commissioner provisionally accepted certain change reports of the trust and initiated suo motu (on its own) inquiry against the trustees including the petitioners and pending inquiry suspended the trustees except Charu Mehta.
Mehta and the two other trustees filed a petition in the HC, challenging the Charity Commissioner's order.
The HC in September stayed the order, noting the Charity Commissioner had acted contrary to the provisions of law.
The petitioners claimed the Charity Commissioner initiated suo motu inquiry even when there was no such prayer from the other side.
The plea alleged the Charity Commissioner had held a private meeting with lawyers of the other side, which casts a serious doubt about impartiality.
The respondent trustees claimed the petitioners habitually file transfer applications when faced with adverse orders and those applications have been rejected in the past.
The HC observed that even if the orders passed are not in accordance with law, at the most it can be said to be a perverse order capable of being corrected by the higher forum.
"However, the passing of such an order itself cannot be said to be the result of a predetermined and prejudiced mind," the court said.
The allegations levelled by the petitioners, if viewed, in isolation would not indicate any basis for apprehension of bias and even if viewed cumulatively it would at the most amount to passing of adverse orders, the HC said.
"The judicial orders passed by the authorities legitimately, though may or may not be corrected by the higher forums, cannot lead to an inference of pre-judged and/or pre-determined and/or biased mind against the litigant," it said.
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Rs 30,000 cr loss a month: Oil companies bleed as fuel prices on hold amid global energy spike
New Delhi (PTI): About Rs 700-1,000 crore loss per day. Rs 30,000 crore every month. India's state oil companies are quietly absorbing a massive financial hit to keep petrol, diesel and LPG prices unchanged even as global energy markets face a turmoil that is bigger than all previous crises combined.
While countries from Japan to United Kingdom have raised petrol and diesel prices by up to 30 per cent since the start of the West Asia conflict, fuel prices in India continue at two-year-old levels.
The war disrupted India's import of 40 per cent of crude oil (raw material for making petrol and diesel), 90 per cent cooking gas LPG and 65 per cent natural gas (used to generate electricity, make fertilizer, turned into CNG and piped to household kitchens for cooking), but state-owned oil companies have maintained uninterrupted fuel supplies with no rationing or shortage at any point in the last 10 weeks.
But this has come at a cost - Rs 30,000 crore under-recovery or loss every month for the three oil marketing companies - Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL), two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.
The under-recoveries - the gap between input costs and realised retail prices - rose sharply in March/April before tapering a bit. Daily under-recoveries during April were estimated at about Rs 18 per litre on petrol and Rs 25 per litre on diesel, translating into average losses of Rs 700-1,000 crore a day for OMCs, they said.
At a news briefing on developments in West Asia, Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, said prices in the international markets, on which India relies to meet 88 per cent of its oil needs, have been volatile and supplies impacted.
Crude oil prices which were around USD 70 per barrel two months ago, are now at USD 120, she said. "It has been government's endeavour to keep prices stable so far and that there is no price increase for consumers," she said. "This has hit finances of OMCs... monthly under-recoveries are of the order of Rs 30,000 crore."
She, however, refused to say if retail petrol and diesel prices will continue to hold.
"As I said, the endeavour so far has been to see that there is no price increase," she said.
The three oil marketing companies (OMCs) have worked overtime to keep the supply lines running even when demand spiked due to panic buying.
The government intervention included excise duty reductions and absorption of part of the fuel cost burden. The special additional excise duty on petrol was cut to Rs 3 per litre from Rs 13, while excise duty on diesel was reduced to zero from Rs 10 per litre.
The under-recoveries would have swelled to nearly Rs 62,500 crore had the government not cut excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 10 per litre each.
The government, Sharma said, has taken a hit of Rs 14,000 crore a month in cutting the excise duty.
The Centre's effective absorption at peak crude prices was estimated at around Rs 24 per litre for petrol and Rs 30 per litre for diesel.
The February 28 strikes by the United States and Israel on Iran triggered a sharp escalation in West Asia tensions. Energy prices surged as the conflict widened and shipping risks intensified in the Strait of Hormuz - the shipping lane through which India and other countries imported crude oil, LPG and natural gas from Gulf countries. Tanker movement was disrupted.
The companies also faced additional costs from emergency crude sourcing, higher freight charges due to vessel diversions, elevated marine insurance premiums and refinery optimisation expenses. Despite these pressures, fuel and LPG supplies remained uninterrupted across the country.
The surge in crude prices and the decision to shield consumers from higher retail prices placed significant strain on OMC balance sheets and refining margins, sources said.
They added that the measures reflected a policy decision to prioritise consumer stability and economic continuity during a global energy shock.
Sources warned that a prolonged period of elevated crude prices could lead to higher working capital borrowings and force some recalibration of capital expenditure plans. However, investments linked to refining expansion, energy security infrastructure, ethanol blending, biofuels and transition fuels would continue with government backing, they said.
India's approach contrasted with measures adopted by several other economies, where fuel prices rose sharply after the conflict-driven energy shock.
Petrol prices increased by about 34 per cent in Spain, 30 per cent in Japan, Italy and Israel, 27 per cent in Germany and 22 per cent in the United Kingdom, according to estimates. Several countries also introduced rationing, conservation advisories, emergency relief packages or fuel caps.
In India, petrol prices remained Rs 94.77 per litre and diesel at Rs 87.67, with no rationing, mobility restrictions or supply disruptions, they added.
Sharma said the revenues that OMCs earn are used to buy crude oil, build infrastructure to process it into fuel and create channels that will take the fuel to consumers.
Their capex spending is all dependent on the revenues they earn, she added.
