Heard Sri N. Subba Reddy, the learned senior counsel instructed by Sri K. Ananda Rao, the learned counsel for some of the petitioners; Mis P. Venugopal, M.V. Rajaram, Srinivas Dammalapati, K. Bheema Rao, V. Venugopala Rao, L. Prabhakar Reddy, K. Vasudeva Reddy and P. Shiv Kumar, the learned counsel for other petitioners in this batch of Writ Petitions. Mis. P.V. Sanjay Kumar, the learned counsel for Hindusthan Petroleum Corporation Limited and Indian Oil Corporation Limited; O. Manohar Reddy, the learned counsel for Bharath Petroleum Corporation Limited; A. Rajashekar Reddy, the learned Assistant Solicitor General for Union of India wherever impleaded; the learned Government Pleaders for Revenue and for Civil Supplies for the official respondents and other learned counsel Mis. K. Venkateshwarlu, Deepak Bhattacharjee, P.S.P. Suresh Kumar, B. Sreehari, B. Narayana Reddy, P.V. Sanjeeva Rao, Arun Yalagiri, Ckhayanam Ravindranath, K. Kishor Kumar Reddy, A. Rajitha, Vijaya Bhaskar Moola, T.v. Ramana Rao, and Challari Nageswara Rao for some of the party respondents impleaded in some of the writ petitions.

2. The several writ petitions are by existing Liquefied Petroleum Gas (for short