Giving a virtual green signal to the government to go ahead with the divestment of oil public sector units Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, the Supreme Court on Monday said pendency of a petition challenging the same would not deter the Centre from privatising the two oil majors.

Adjourning hearing on a writ petition filed by Federation of All India Petroleum Traders, a Bench comprising Chief Justice V N Khare and Justice S B Sinha said pendency of the petition in the apex court 'shall not be construed as any stay of the HPCL, BPCL divestment process.'

Immediately after counsel for petitioner, Senior Advocate Salman Khurshid stood up to argue the case, Solicitor General Kirit Raval stated that a material fact had been suppressed by the petitioners.

Raval said the petitioner had approached the Delhi High Court, but had withdrawn the petition saying the Supreme Court judgement on the Balco divestment issue came in their way.

The Solicitor General said the Balco judgement squarely covered the issue and the petitioners after withdrawing their plea from the High Court could not approach the apex Court.

However, Khurshid said the counsel had expressed his personal view before the High Court and tried to differentiate between Balco and the oil PSUs saying the earlier was a government undertaking, whereas the oil PSUs were private undertakings taken over by the government.