The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear in July a challenge to the SHANTI Act 2025 while observing that capping liability of private operators in nuclear incidents is a fiscal policy matter beyond judicial second-guessing.
A bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi, made the observations during a public interest litigation filed by former bureaucrat EAS Sarma. The petition questions provisions that limit private operator liability to as low as ₹100 crore and the government's residual liability to around ₹3,000 crore.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the petitioners, argued that the caps could compromise safety standards and cited the Chernobyl and Fukushima disasters where damages ran into hundreds of billions of dollars. The bench responded that the Act does not remove the power of constitutional courts to determine victim compensation.
The court noted that nuclear energy remains a necessity for development and that higher liability caps might deter foreign investment. It will take up the matter again in July to address concerns over regulatory independence and public safety.
