COCHIN REFINERIES LTD Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) O. P. No. 13965 of 1995 had been filed by Cochin Refineries Limited, which is a Government company. The other two Original petitions have been filed by Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, (BPC) which also is an enterprise of the Government of India. Notices issued by the Department of Legal Metrology are under challenge. O.P. Nos. 13965 and 15818 of 1995 challenge the directions for calibrating the storage tanks installed by the petitioners.

(2.) O. P.No. 2752 of 2000 has been filed by BPC for a declaration that the flow - meters installed by them at the Loading Gantries, in its Irimbanam Installation, are not required to be calibrated under the Standards of Weights and Measures (Enforcement) Act, 1985 and the Rules thereunder. The impact of the Standards of Weights and Measurements Act, 1976, Enforcement Act, 1985 and Rules framed thereunder comes to be decided in these set of writ petitions. I may deal with the issue of storage tanks, in the first instance, and later on deal with the issue concerning the flow meters.

(3.) Cochin Refineries Limited is engaged in the manufacture of High Speed Diesel, Petrol, Naphta, raw kerosene, Asphalt, Low Sulphur Heavy stock, Furnace Oil, LPG and other petroleum products. For the purposes of (1) storage of raw materials imported and pumped into the factory premises, (2) for storage of intermediate products after the first processing and (3) for storing the finished products, facilities in the form of storage Tanks with capacity ranging from 16000 kilo litres to 65000 kilo litres have been installed. All of them may not be used at all times. From the storage tanks, where finished products are kept, the products are removed either by tanker lorries or by pipelines or by Railway wagons. It has been stated that six tanks are used for storing raw materials. 14 tanks are used for storing intermediate products and 16 storage tanks are intended for storage of other petroleum products. The balance are either kept idle or used for storage of finished products, the other finished products, namely petroleum and High Speed Diesel.