The Madras High Court on Thursday stayed a decision taken by the Indian Road Congress (IRC) on December 1 to withdraw the guidelines issued by it in 2016 for access and permission to fuel stations along national highways.
Justices N. Kirubakaran and P. Velmurugan granted the interim order on a public interest litigation petition filed by advocate V.B.R. Menon who claimed that there would be a vacuum in the absence of any guidelines and lead to chaos.
The judges agreed with the lawyer, who argued the case as party-in-person, that the sudden withdrawal of the guidelines would lead to the fuel stations being located in prohibited areas or near residential colonies, hospitals, schools, water bodies and so on.
