Courts have no business to run govt, says apex court

The Supreme Court has quashed the CBI inquiry and contempt proceedings initiated by the Madhya Pradesh High Court against the State Electricity Board/ regulatory commission officials, said courts have no business to run the government.

The Supreme Court has quashed the CBI inquiry and contempt proceedings initiated by the Madhya Pradesh High Court against the State Electricity Board/ regulatory commission officials, said courts have no business to run the government.

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A Bench of Justices Harjit Singh Bedi and K S Radhakrishnan held that it was beyond the jurisdiction of courts to decide in PILs on issues like supply of electricity as it was in the domain of independent state agencies.

The apex court said power shortage was a national phenomena and the state agencies cannot be held accountable and punished for the purpose.

"We must emphasise once again that a public interest litigation is to be invoked sparingly and with rectitude and any order made in this situation must be reasonable and must not reflect the pique of the court, more particularly as it is not the courts' business to attempt to run the government in a manner which the court thinks is the proper way," the apex court said.

The apex court passed the order while allowing a special leave petition filed by certain aggrieved officers of Madhya Pradesh State Electricity Board challenging the contempt proceedings and directions for a CBI inquiry ordered by the High Court on April 1, 2003 in a PIL which complained of unscheduled load shedding.