The Supreme Court on Monday sought to know from the petitioner of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) how the Cairn Energy-Vedanta Resources deal can be declared invalid, even while expressing difficulty in reversing the deal right away.

The court has asked the Centre, Cairn Energy, Vedanta Resources and ONGC to submit their responses to the PIL in four weeks.

Agreeing to look into the allegations made in the PIL after considering the replies, the court also asked the petitioner – lawyer Mr Arun Kumar Agrawal – to give his views within a fortnight from the response of the Centre and the other parties.

The PIL had sought the court’s directions to order a CBI probe into the manner in which the Government has cleared the deal.

The petition highlights “how the (Union) Government has allowed transfer of oil resources of the country worth lakhs of crores of rupees to a private company by giving up its own legal rights in complete violation of the public trust doctrine.”

>arun.s@thehindu.co.in