New Delhi: The Centre has sought the dismissal of a public interest litigation (PIL) on wheat imports saying that the court should not interfere in its decision making process and cited various Supreme Court judgements to buttress its argument.

The government has been in the midst of controversy over its decision to import the grain at a rate of US $ 325 per ton which many contend is too high.

"International market is not predictable and changes in weather conditions, quantity of production etc and large number of other factors influence international prices of wheat," the government has said in its affidavit filed in the Delhi High Court in its response.

The PIL filed through advocate A K Thakur had also sought a CBI inquiry into the issue.

The Centre said the decision pertaining to wheat import was taken to fill the gap of 5 million ton in the central pool stock which is being used for welfare schemes and emergencies. It said filling the gap by purchasing wheat from domestic market would have adversely affected the consumers as the price of the product would have risen due to increased demand.

"If this gap was made up by purchasing wheat in the domestic market, it would have adversely affected the market sentiments and the prices would have gone up, compelling the consumers to pay higher prices," the affidavit said.

The PIL had contended that to meet the shortfall in the buffer stock, the government placed the order of 5.7 lakh MT of wheat in July with three foreign firms at a much higher price of US $ 325 per metric ton against US $ 263, the lowest bid received in May in a global tender floated by State Trading Corporation. 

Source : PTI