PIL seeks HC direction on LPG tanker owners strike call

: A petition has been filed in the Madras High Court by oil major HPCL seeking a direction to the police and other authorities in Tamil Nadu to invoke powers under the Essential Commodities Act to prevent the proposed strike by bulk LPG tanker operators from July 1.

In a public interest litigation petition, Deputy General Manager of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited Kaushik Roy contended that the strike called by the Southern Region Bulk LPG Transport Owners Association was illegal.

He sought a direction to the Commissioner of Civil Supplies and Consumer protection Department and the state DGP to invoke powers under the Essential Commodities Act and take action against President and Secretary of the association M Ponnambalam N R Karthick respectively for instigating others to go on strike.

The petitioner submitted that the bulk LPG transportation contract was given upto August 31, 2023 for a period of five years as per the tender floated on January 23, 2018 and 96.8 per cent of the trucks have already been inducted by the company.

While so, the strike call has been given demanding that all quoted and qualified tanker trucks under the association be inducted by HPCL for LPG transport.

The petitioner said the request for taking all the quoted/qualified trucks was not in line with the tender terms and conditions.

As per the tender conditions and agreement signed by the individual transporters with the oil company, it would be illegal on the part of tanker owners to go on strike, he contended.