Delhi HC upholds Vedanta oil block rejection

The India — Delhi High Court upheld the India — Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas's decision to reject Vedanta Limited's request for a 10-year extension of its Production Sharing Contract for the CB/OS-2 offshore oil and gas block off the Gujarat coast. The court ruled that Vedanta became ineligible due to its unilateral deduction of the government's share of Profit Petroleum to recover excise duty. The court also directed ONGC to take over the block's assets and operations. The decision was based on the Public Trust Doctrine and the 2017 Extension Policy, emphasizing that the government can consider an applicant's conduct beyond technical eligibility.