New Delhi, July 23 -- The Delhi High Court on Wednesday upheld the Centre's decision to deny Vedanta Ltd a 10-year extension of its Production Sharing Contract (PSC) for an offshore oil block in Gujarat, directing the company to hand over the block to Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC). A bench of Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav held that Vedanta became ineligible for an extension after it unilaterally deducted Rs.88 crore from the Centre's share of profit petroleum to offset its Special Additional Excise Duty liability, despite the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas rejecting such an adjustment in September 2022. Calling the conduct "shocking" and "serious", the court said Vedanta, entrusted with managing public resources, had breached its obligations under the Constitution's Public Trust Doctrine by using the government's share of revenue for its own benefit instead of remitting it as required under the PSC. "The Government cannot be held ransom to the whims of a private company," the court said, adding that the unilateral deduction was not bona fide and was aimed at protecting Vedanta's commercial interests. The court held that the Centre's September 19, 2025 decision rejecting Vedanta's extension request was legally valid and consistent with the 2017 PSC Extension Policy. Hours later, Vedanta moved division bench challenging the verdict and the same will be heard on Thursday. Vedanta applied in June 2021 for a 10-year extension till June 2033....