Delhi High Court halts government's plan to transfer offshore oil block from Vedanta to ONGC.

The Delhi High Court has ordered a status quo, halting the Indian government’s plan to transfer control of an offshore oil block off Gujarat’s coast from Vedanta Limited to state-owned ONGC. The court’s decision, issued by Justice Amit Sharma, preserves Vedanta’s current operations while the company’s legal challenge proceeds. Vedanta argues the government’s rejection of its 10-year PSC extension was arbitrary, violated policy, and lacked fair process, especially as new objections emerged years after the contract expired. The government and ONGC maintain the contract expired and that the state’s public interest justifies the transfer. The court has stayed the takeover order pending further review.