Judiciary must not create anti-investment climate: SC | India News
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has said that constitutional courts must be careful in exercising judicial review of laws so as not to create an anti-investment environment and weigh the national interest against imaginary fears about the law.A bench of CJI Surya Kant and Justice Jayamalya Bagchi made the oral observation on Friday during the preliminary hearing of a PIL by EAS Sarma, whose lawyer. Prashant Bhushan Liability has been placed on private players operating nuclear power plants under the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancing of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Act passed by Parliament in December. Bhushan said the liability of private players due to nuclear plant accidents has been capped at Rs 3,000 crore even though nuclear plant accidents can cause millions of nuclear damage and losses of Rs. The government has allowed private players in the nuclear sector but exempted them from strict civil liability clauses, he said, adding that the government’s liability is also capped at Rs 4,500 crore.CJI Kant said, “There should be an environment in the country where investors feel encouraged to invest.” Regulations must be in sync with other countries, says SC CJI Kant said, “Today, coal-based power plants are not encouraged. We cannot do without nuclear power. So, there has to be a balance in the approach – national interest versus speculative fear.” “We should not create an environment where people are afraid to invest in India because the courts here interfere with everything. Litigation drags on and projects become useless despite huge investments.”Justice Bagchi said, “These are policy decisions – what our energy basket should be. Whether the policy is biased or unconstitutional can be determined through scrutiny.”“Show us the civil liability regulatory framework in countries like the US, Europe and Japan When electricity is traded across borders, India’s regulatory framework must be aligned with other countries,” he said.Senior lawyer Kapil Sibal tried to intervene in support of Bhushan, but the bench stopped him saying “Let Bhushan help us”. The bench asked Bhushan to detail the regulatory framework for civil nuclear liability regimes in other countries and adjourned the hearing for next month.
