In Brief
The petitioner, seeking a petroleum retail dealership, challenged the grant of an ad hoc dealership to a third party by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gases without inviting applications. The Supreme Court held that the petitioner lacked standing to challenge the grant, as ad hoc dealerships are temporary measures for leased or underutilized sites granted only to existing dealers under established policy. The Court found no breach of guidelines or discriminatory favour shown, noting 185 such outlets existed. The writ petition was dismissed as the respondent was operating within its commercial policy without statutory violation.
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