Public Interest Litigations
Writ Petition questioning the legal
validity of certain TREATIES entered into by the Government of India, and
containing Prayers for the Declaration of Law
Introduction by Shiva Kant Jha
This Writ Petition [(PIL) W.P. (C)
1357 of 2007] is pending before the Hon'ble Delhi High Court which issued
rule July 3, 2007, after hearing the counsel for the Central Government, directing
the Government to “file … counter affidavit within three months.
Rejoinder within two months thereafter…..”. In the light of the
deliberations in the Seminar on Treaty making (held at Assocham), presided
over by Shri J.S. Verma, a former Chief Justice of India; and the ‘Statement
on the Powers of the Executive with reference to the Indo-US Nuclear deal’
signed by Justice V R Krishna Iyer, a former Judge of the Supreme Court of
India; Justice P B Sawant, a former Judge of the Supreme Court of India; and
Justice H Suresh, a former Judge of the Bombay High Court, the Petitioner
thought it appropriate to seek the Leave of the Hon’ble High Court to
amending the said Writ Petition by inserting paras 18C, 18D, and 18E, and
Prayers ‘s’, ‘t’, and ‘u’ to facilitate
more focused judicial consideration of issues, and a comprehensive Declaration
of Law. The Prayers sought to be inserted would clearly bring to focus certain
important constitutional points measuring the competence of the Central Government
to enter into treaties like the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements, the
Uruguay Round Final Act, and the contemplated Indo-US Nuclear Deal. The Hon’ble
Court granted on Oct. 29, 2007, after hearing the Petitioner and the Counsel
of the Central Government, Leave to amend this Writ Petition. [ The order
was passed concluding the proceedings commenced in the Hon’ble Court
on C.M (C) NO. 14876 of 2007].
The Union of India & Ors. filed their Counter-Affidavit on Nov. 12, 2008. On Feb. 4, 2009 the Hon’ble Court directed for filing a Written Submissions in 2 weeks. Hearing of the matter is now fixed on July 16, 2009. As this is a PIL of wide public interest, all the relevant papers are put in the public domain: these are -
(I) The Writ Petition (c) 1357 of 2007 [PIL],
(II) The Counter-Affidavit filed by the Union of India & Ors., the Respondents,
(III) The Written Submissions filed on Feb. 16, 2009 by Shri Shiva Kant Jha, the Petitioner.
Hearing before the Hon’ble Delhi High Court on July 16, 2009.
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