Letters: Of individuals and policies

This refers to Abheek Barua's article "Too big to de-allocate?" (September 29). "The too big to fail" argument may make economic sense for a democratic government. It is, therefore, for the government to mitigate the future risks and damages associated with the de-allocation of coal blocks. The court's job is to examine the aspects of legality and fairness of this issue and not really to provide a solution, the latter being squarely in the realm of the executive. It was the government, in collusion with unscrupulous businessmen and politicians, that generated the garbage and allowed it to be thrown into the the Supreme Court's front yard, even arguing that it wasn't garbage. The Supreme Court has done the right thing by throwing the garbage back into the house of those who generated it.

The other argument that "the judiciary should pass judgment on the impropriety or malfeasance of individuals... and not on a process or a policy" does not hold conviction. When a policy or process stinks of malfeasance and is against the basic constitutional principles of equity, fairness and justice, individuals or groups cannot hide behind the policy. They have to take the impact on their chest - an occupational hazard.

Kishor Kulkarni Mumbai

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