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SC to hear Balco divestment case

The validity of the controversial decision of the Centre to sell its 51 per cent share in Bharat Aluminium Company to Sterlite Industries for Rs 5.515 billion will now be decided by the Supreme Court, which on Monday transferred to itself all petitions on this issue pending before various high courts.

Allowing the Centre's transfer plea, a bench comprising Justice B N Kirpal and Justice Ruma Pal said "having regard to the importance of the issue and the fact that similar issues are pending before different high courts at New Delhi and Chhattishgarh, we direct the transfer of petitions pending before the high courts to the Supreme Court."

Underlining the need for an expeditious decision on the issue of divestment, the Bench directed transfer of all records of the case from the two high courts to the apex court within four weeks and asked the Union government to file its reply affidavit to the petitions within two weeks.

The bench said that the matter, after the transfer of the petitions, "will be heard by a three-judge bench."

While Balco Employees Union and B L Wadhera had challenged the divestment decision in Delhi High Court, a worker Suman Singh Kanwar had challenged the same before Chhattisgarh high court.

Appearing for the Centre, Attorney General Soli J Sorabjee contended that the divestment policy of the Centre, having a countrywide ramification, has been challenged in the petitions and it would be everybody's interest that the apex court gave a ruling on this.

Sorabjee said: "The main question involved in the petitions is what is the parameter of the judicial review in such cases and the apex court is best suited to lay down such a parameter," he said.

The Chhattisgarh government, which had severely criticised the Centre accusing it of taking an arbitrary decision, said it did not have any objection as to which court heard the matter.

Appearing for the State, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, however, said that in many cases the apex court had allowed the high courts to decide so that it had the benefit of the judgements of the high courts on the issue.

Sorabjee, assisted by Solicitor General Harish Salve, Additional Solicitor General Kirit Raval and advocate Maninder Singh, contended that unless the parameters of judicial review was decided by the apex court, for every divestment the process would be challenged before one or the other high court.

"Today it is Balco, tomorrow it might be Air-India," he said, wondering "is it not in everyone's interest that the Supreme Court decided the issue."

"We want an authoritative pronouncement on this issue in an expeditious manner," he said, adding that the high courts due to exigency of work may not be able to decide the case soon.

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