SC holds coal block allocations illegal; Decision on quashing to be taken after further hearing

In what is arguably one of the biggest corruption scams unearthed in India, the Supreme Court today ruled that all the coal block allocations made as per the recommendations of the screening committee and the government dispensation route are illegal..The Court, however, did not quash the allocations but has sought the response and suggestions of all the parties involved to propose ways and means as to what should be the consequences..In a 163-page judgment delivered by Chief Justice of India (CJI) RM Lodha and Justices Kurian Joseph and Madan B Lokur, the Court categorically held that,.“The entire allocation of coal block as per recommendations made by the Screening Committee from 14.07.1993 in 36 meetings and the allocation through the Government dispensation route suffers from the vice of arbitrariness and legal flaws. The Screening Committee has never been consistent, it has not been transparent, there is no proper application of mind, it has acted on no material in many cases, relevant factors have seldom been its guiding factors, there was no transparency and guidelines have seldom guided it…..There was no fair and transparent procedure, all resulting in unfair distribution of the national wealth. Common good and public interest have, thus, suffered heavily.”.Desisting from quashing the allocations, the Court in its judgment stated that the matter requires further hearing..“What should be the consequences, is the issue which remains to be tackled. We are of the view that, to this limited extent, the matter requires further hearing.”.After pronouncing the judgment, CJI Lodha had a lengthy conversation with all the parties involved including Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi and asked them to suggest the way forward. He also put forth a suggestion that a committee comprising retired Supreme Court judges could be formed for deciding the consequences. The case will now be heard on September 1, 2014..Meanwhile the criminal trial in the scam is proceeding independently before a Special court setup by the Supreme Court. It is functioning out of the Patiala House court complex in Delhi..Read the full judgment below..Image of judges taken from the website of Supreme Court of India.