India, Sept. 2 -- The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed Oil India Ltd (OIL) to withdraw its plea challenging the Centre's rejection of its proposal for Extended Reach Drilling (ERD) to extract hydrocarbons beneath Assam's Dibru-Saikhowa National Park and permitted it to file a fresh petition.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana passed the order after senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for OIL, said the matter was urgent and sought an early hearing.

Dwivedi told the bench that all permissions for the project had been obtained but the Centre considered itself bound by the Supreme Court's April 26, 2023 order prohibiting mining in national parks and wildlife sanctuaries and within o...