SC 'lost its way' while cancelling coal blocks, 2G licences: former Attorney General Rohatgi

The Supreme Court "lost its way" while cancelling all allocations of coal blocks, 2G spectrum licences and iron ore mining in Karnataka and Goa and its zeal to protect the environment dealt a serious blow to the country's economy, former Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi said on Saturday.

Referring to the taking over of the power to appoint judges in higher judiciary by the CJI-led collegium, he also said the Supreme Court should "graciously give up its right to be the sole body to appoint the judges".

Rohatgi, who was appointed the Attorney General for India by the NDA government on June 19, 2014 and remained so till June 18, 2017, made the remarks while delivering the Prof N R Madhava Menon memorial lecture on the subject of 'Journey of the Supreme Court from 1950 till now'.

The judgements on coal block and 2G spectrum allocations and cancellation of iron or mining licences in Karnataka and Goa were delivered during the previous UPA regime and had played a big role in anti-corruption movements in the country against the then government.

Speaking on the current practice of holding hearings via video conferencing during the health crisis caused by coronavirus, Rohatgi said that there are some issues with the technical aspect of the system but it can be improved and built on and can help build the Bar also.

He expressed happiness over the apex court's decision to ensure that more benches will hear cases in the coming days.

While talking about the major judgments delivered by the apex court since independence, Rohatgi said, "In its zeal to uphold the environment, in its zeal to correct government orders and inactions, the Supreme Court dealt a serious blow to the economy of the nation. One such example is cancelling all allocations of the coal mines across the country.

"Lakhs and crores of foreign investments, lakhs and crores of equipment, infrastructure and lakhs of jobs were thrown overboard when the court set aside and cancelled all the allocations of coal blocks and coal mines, because the government did not follow the law correctly. It should have seen the economic impact."
He further added, "The Supreme Court should graciously give up its right to be the sole body to appoint the judges. In no country, judges solely appoint themselves. There should be fresh blood, fresh insight, fresh views so as to find out who are the good judges."