CJI speaks out for FDI, need to create jobs

Amid the raging controversy over "presumptive losses" calculated by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in the 2G spectrum scam and the coal allocation controversy, Chief Justice of India SH Kapadia on Saturday said that "loss was a matter of fact and profit or gain was a matter of opinion". HT reports.

Amid the raging controversy over "presumptive losses" calculated by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in the 2G spectrum scam and the coal allocation controversy, chief justice of India SH Kapadia on Saturday said that "loss was a matter of fact and profit or gain was a matter of opinion".

HT Image

"How many of us know the basic principle of valuation? Today, a number of controversies on valuation are discussed, but the basic principle of valuation is that loss is a matter of fact and profit is a matter of opinion," the CJI, who will demit office on September 29, said at an international conference on Economic Growth in Asia and Changes of Corporate Environment.

CJI designate justice Altmas Kabir also hailed measures taken by the PM to revive the economy.

Speaking on the issue, Kapadia said, "Please apply this test on the controversy going on. I do not want to discuss anything further. Loss is a matter of fact and profit and gain is a matter of opinion. So if you understand these principles we will be able to judge. Our perception will become more sound, and we know where the shoe pinches," justice Kapadia said.

The CJI also lauded the Prime Minister's address to the nation on the economic situation, delivered on Friday. "Today, India has a young population of around 30%, and we need 10 million jobs per annum. And if the growth goes down, I am sorry to say unemployment will increase and that is where investment comes in to bridge the gap," the CJI said.

Advocating judicial restraint on policy matters, justice Kapadia said: "If we (judges) do not have a model to apply, we need not, and cannot, sit in judgment over policy decisions."

He said the biggest challenge that India faced was not economic growth, but inclusive growth. "Today, in certain areas of development, there is a fear that equates development with displacement. There is a fear expressed by tribals. There is a fear experienced by farmers. These fears need to be dispelled," he added.

Referring to Article 39 B of the Constitution, he said that natural resources should be allocated or distributed for the common good to achieve economic democracy. "In my view, without this economic democracy, our political democracy would be in peril," he said.