Terming it a “very sensitive legislative policy issue”, the Supreme Court on Tuesday showed reluctance to examine the validity of the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Act, 2025 that caps the liability at Rs 3,000 crore in the event of any accident.
A bench of CJI Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vipul M Pancholi said the issue touched upon the country’s “economic policy”.
“Our concern is that if an unfortunate event or any accident takes place and any person suffers an injury or damage, do we have a robust compensatory mechanism for that purpose,” the bench said, while hearing a PIL filed by EAS Sarma and others challenging the Act.
Noting that the technology had to come from outside, the bench wondered that if the liability was not capped, then who would come to operate here.
However, it said the cap on liability did not tinker with the court’s power to determine the compensation to be awarded to victims of a nuclear accident. “Nobody can curtail the power of even a tribunal when the tribunal wants to assess compensation and suitably award it to a person who is entitled,” it said, adding the state will also compensate if any such unfortunate incident took place.
The top court’s comments came after advocate Prashant Bhushan submitted on behalf of the petitioners that capping of the total liability was one of the main issues.
“If a nuclear accident takes place, the damage done is hundreds of times higher than that,” Bhushan said, referring to the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident in Japan. The Government can do whatever it wants by way of a policy, but it cannot sacrifice the rights of citizens, he submitted.
“You tell us a single nation, whether developed or developing, who is not having production of power through nuclear power plants,” the bench told Bhushan who said Japan and Germany had stopped energy production through nuclear power plants and that they had no cap on the liability. In the US, the cap was Rs 1.54 lakh crore — more than 100 times the cap imposed in India, he added.
“Some of your apprehensions may require attention. We will try to clarify those apprehensions,” the bench said, posting the matter for hearing in July.
Will set up 7-judge benches to hear constitutional references: CJI
Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Tuesday said he will soon set up multiple seven-judge benches to adjudicate on long-standing references pending before the Supreme Court.
“I am going to set up seven-judge benches soon, and hence, I may not get the time to hear the present matter,” the CJI said while adjourning the hearing of a case.
Earlier this year, the top court concluded hearings on two nine-judge bench matters relating to legal definition of ‘Industry’ followed by the conclusion of the Sabarimala reference last week.
