The office of Attorney General (AG) R Venkataramani on Tuesday issued a clarification stating that the Union government never described its E20 fuel programme as an "experiment" before the Supreme Court.

The clarification came in response to media reports published on June 30 claiming that the Attorney General had informed the top court that the government's initiative to achieve 20 per cent ethanol blending in petrol was "still an ongoing experiment" whose impact would become clearer next year.

According to the AG's office, these reports, which were based on proceedings in a recent hearing concerning an ethanol allocation dispute, were "completely false" and bore no resemblance to the actual submissions made before the Court.

"At no stage was any submission made that the Government's Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme or the E20 blending programme is an 'experiment'," the clarification stated.

It further emphasised that any suggestion that the Union government had characterised the E20 programme as an experiment before the Supreme Court was "incorrect" and did not reflect the submissions made on its behalf.

The clarification relates to the Supreme Court proceedings held on June 30 in a petition filed by Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), which has challenged a Karnataka High Court order directing oil marketing companies to reconsider ethanol allocations for the 2025-26 supply year.

The AG's office said that during the hearing, Venkataramani informed the Court that similar disputes concerning ethanol allocation to Dedicated Ethanol Plants are pending before various High Courts across the country.

He submitted that transfer petitions would be filed before the Supreme Court so that all such cases, involving common questions of law arising from the same contractual framework, could be heard together to avoid conflicting judicial decisions.

The clarification added that the Attorney General had stressed the need for an expeditious resolution of the litigation to ensure uninterrupted ethanol supplies to oil marketing companies. Such a resolution, he submitted, was essential to prevent disruption to the government's objective of maintaining 20 per cent ethanol blending in petrol throughout the year under the Ethanol Blended Petrol Programme.

The AG's office also urged the media to report court proceedings accurately, particularly when reporting on significant national policy initiatives such as the E20 fuel programme.