The Madras High Court took objection to the action of a Union minister in issuing statements on commissioning of the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP), when it is seized of the matter and has in fact, reserved its orders on a batch of writ petitions relating to the plant.
A division bench comprising justices P Jyothimani and P Devadoss on Thursday said the Centre was not represented in court properly. The senior judge of the bench had been receiving hundreds of SMSes whenever the minister issued such statements, the bench said.
The bench further noted that though the portfolio came under the Prime Minister and the hearings went on for a long time, the Centre had not taken the issue seriously. The Centre was making a mockery of the Madras High Court, it said. “They think only Supreme Court is the court and the Madras HC is not a court at all,” the judges charged.
What was the purpose of hearing the case for so long, the judges wondered, adding that if such indifference continued they would not hesitate to pull out of the case.
The Court had reserved its orders after a detailed hearing and nearly 200 pages of the judgment had already been dictated, the judges added.
The bench did not spare the State Pollution Control Board either. Referring to the Board’s submission that seawater, at the place where effluents were to be released, could be around 47 degrees Celsius, the bench wondered how marine species could survive in such high temperatures. KKNPP is a nuclear plant and required special guidelines, the bench added. The judges also pulled up activists for filing fresh petitions even after the orders were reserved.
Comments
0 comment