Mangaluru (Karnataka), Aug 27: Mangaluru Refineries and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL), one of the largest refineries in the country and a subsidiary of the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation -- owner of the brand 'HiQ', on Tuesday announced the commissioning of a retail outlet at Bengaluru at Devanagonthi town in the Eastern Bengaluru urban district.

According to a statement from the refiner on Tuesday, the newly operational terminal is expected to be a shot in the arm for MRPL to meet its ambitious target of selling 1 million metric tonnes of fuel through the retail path through its popular brand, "MRPL HiQ Auto fuels".

This terminal will also ensure cost-effective placement of ATF near the major airports, including Bengaluru.

MRPL has a strength of over 100 retail outlets in north of Kerala and in Karnataka and there are more in the pipeline in coming years.

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New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court will on Monday hear a plea filed by Gitanjali J Angmo, wife of jailed climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, terming his detention under the National Security Act “illegal, and an arbitrary exercise violating his fundamental rights”.

A bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and N V Anjaria is likely to hear the matter.

On November 24, the top court had deferred the matter after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre and the UT of Ladakh, sought time to respond to the rejoinder filed by Angmo.

On October 29, the top court sought responses from the Centre and the Ladakh administration on an amended plea of Angmo.

According to the amended plea, “The detention order is founded upon stale FIRs, vague imputations, and speculative assertions, lacks any live or proximate connection to the purported grounds of detention and is thus devoid of any legal or factual justification...

“Such arbitrary exercise of preventive powers amounts to a gross abuse of authority, striking at the core of constitutional liberties and due process, rendering the detention order liable to be vitiated by this court.”

The plea said it is wholly preposterous that after more than three decades of being recognised at the state, national, and international levels for his contributions to grassroots education, innovation, and environmental conservation in Ladakh and across India, “Wangchuk would suddenly be targeted”.

Angmo said the unfortunate events of violence in Leh on September 24 cannot be attributed to the actions or statements of Wangchuk in any manner.

Wangchuk himself condemned the violence through his social media handles and categorically stated that violence would lead to the failure of Ladakh's "tapasya" and peaceful pursuit of five years, Angmo said, adding that “it was the saddest day of his life”.

Wangchuk was detained under the stringent National Security Act (NSA) on September 26, two days after violent protests demanding statehood and Sixth Schedule status for Ladakh left four people dead and 90 injured in the Union territory. The government had accused him of inciting the violence.

The NSA empowers the Centre and states to detain individuals to prevent them from acting in a manner "prejudicial to the defence of India". The maximum detention period is 12 months, though it can be revoked earlier.