The Supreme Court has ruled that all candidates for dealerships of petroleum products will be ineligible where it is found that allotment is tainted due to political connections or patronage. Under normal circumstances, the second candidate is the automatic choice.

The apex court made the ruling on September 18, hearing a case between Sunita Kumari and Indian Oil Corporation. Kumari’s counsel claimed that she should have been allotted dealership of a kerosene and light diesel oil in Bihar in 2002, after cancellation of the first candidate Neelam Kumari. However, the Court ruled that in this particular case, the whole process was vitiated by political connections, which is why the Government cancelled all allocations in the first place. .

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