New Delhi: Giving a virtual green signal to the Union government to go ahead with the disinvestment of oil Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs)-- HPCL (Hindustan Petroleum Corp Limited) and BPCL (Bharat Petroleum Corp Limited), the Supreme Court on March 24 said pendancy of a petition challenging the same would not deter the Centre from rivatising the two oil majors.

Adjourning hearing on a writ petition filed by Federation of All India Petroleum Traders, a Bench comprising Chief Justice V N Khare and Justice S B Sinha said pendency of the petition in the apex Court "shall not be construed as any stay of the HPCL, BPCL disinvestment process".

Immediately after counsel for petitioner, senior advocate Salman Khurshid stood up to argue the case, Solicitor General Kirit Raval stated that a material fact had been suppressed by the petitioners.

Raval said the petitioner had approached the Delhi High Court, but had withdrawn the petition saying the Supreme Court judgement on the Balco disinvestment issue came in their way.

The Solicitor General said the Balco judgement squarely covered the issue and the petitioners after withdrawing their plea from the High Court could not approach the apex Court.

However, Khurshid said the counsel had expressed his personal view before the High Court and tried to differentiate between Balco and the oil PSUs saying the earlier was a government undertaking, whereas the oil PSUs were private undertakings taken over by the government.

The Bench, while indicating that it was an abuse of process by the petitioner, granted them four weeks to clarify the position.

PTI