(1.) Heard the petitioner in person who has filed this PIL. Also heard the learned senior counsel Mr. S.N. Sarma representing the Oil India Ltd. (respondent No.5). The State of Assam is represented by Mr. C. Choudhury, the learned Advocate General. Mr. C.K.S. Baruah, the Central Govt. lawyer appears for the 1st respondent.
(2.) The concern of the petitioner is the decision taken by the Central Government to auction off 12 oil fields in Assam. According to her, if the un-exploited oil fields are auctioned, there will be adverse consequences for the State and its people. The petitioner contends that the proposed action is intended to serve vested private interest and the public sector giants like ONGC and Oil India Ltd. should be made answerable to the people of Assam, for their failure to produce crude oil from the concerned oil fields, in the last few decades.
(3.) When the locus standi of the petitioner is questioned, she cites S.P. Gupta Vs. President of India, reported in AIR 1982 SC 149; Chaitanya Kumar Vs. State of Karnataka, reported in AIR 1986 SC 825 and Lakshmi Kant Pandey Vs. Union of India, reported in (1984) 2 SCC 244, to contend that as a public spirited individual, the petitioner is entitled to articulate the concern of the people of Assam on the proposed action. She submits that the process will privatise the extraction of crude oil from the concerned oil fields and this will not be in public interest.