JUDGMENT :

C.S. Dias, J.

The intra-Court appeals are filed by the respondents 2 to 4 in W.P(C) 9414/2022 ? the Public Sector Oil Marketing Companies ? aggrieved by the interim order passed in the writ petition, directing them to sell high-speed diesel to the writ petitioner ? the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation ? at the market price available for Retail Outlets. The parties are referred to as per their status in the writ petition.

2. The concise facts in the writ petition, relevant for the determination of the appeals, are:

2.1. The petitioner is a State Transport undertaking established under the Road Transport Corporation Act, 1950. The petitioner is aggrieved by the decision of the respondents 2 to 4 (hereinafter collectively referred to as ‘OMCs’) to increase the price of high-speed diesel (in short ‘diesel’), sold in bulk to the petitioner, higher than the market price of diesel, approximately more than Rs.21/-per litre, which is violative of Articles 14 and 19 (i) (g) of the Constitution of India.

2.2. The petitioner is the largest establishment in the State, with 26578 employees and 41,000 pensioners. Before the pandemic, the petitioner used to transport nearly 35,00,000