In Brief
State-run road transport corporations challenged the Government of India's January 2013 policy withdrawing diesel subsidies for bulk consumers, claiming it violated constitutional equality and fiscal rights. The Supreme Court dismissed the petitions, holding that subsidy is a privilege of fiscal policy, not a legal right. The Government, after over a decade of deliberation, had decided to cease subsidizing diesel for bulk purchasers to ease Oil Marketing Companies' accumulated debt burden of ₹1,68,948 crores and fund social welfare schemes. The Court found no arbitrariness or discrimination, ruling that policy decisions on subsidies are not amenable to judicial review and cannot be enforced as rights, even when the claimant renders public service.
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