Solicitor general advocates law to scrap deals

Solicitor general Mohan Parasaran has proposed legislation to empower the government to scrap agreements between a state-run body and a private company, in view of the litigation in international courts in the Antrix-Devas deal done by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Nagendar Sharma reports.

Solicitor general Mohan Parasaran has proposed legislation to empower the government to scrap agreements between a state-run body and a private company, in view of the litigation in international courts in the Antrix-Devas deal done by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

HT Image

Parasaran has advised that the government must get Parliament’s nod – in the “national interest” – for a law to avoid legal complications and financial losses such as the ones that arose in the Rs 1,000-crore deal, signed without its consent. On the question of whether a new law can be applied with retrospective effect, Parasaran said: “It is for the cabinet and Parliament to take a final call. In my view, where the national interest is involved, there is no problem in doing so.”

The PMO has asked the Planning Commission to draft a law to address issues related to disputes in public-private partnerships. In the initial draft, the Commission has suggested setting up an independent tribunal to settle disputes.