Retail FDI: How will you protect small traders, is this a 'political gimmick', Supreme Court asks govt
shops and the companies thereafter can increase the price and monopolise the market.
"Has the policy brought some investment in the country or is it just a political gimmick. Has the policy brought some fruits?," the bench asked the government.
Expressing reservation on scrutiny of the policy by the court, Attorney General G E Vahanvati said that it is a policy matter which has been approved by Parliament and all these aspects were discussed by MPs.
The bench, however, said Government policies are not sacrosanct and the court has right to see that the policy is reasonable and within Constitutional framework.
"Any policy is not sacrosanct and it must be within the constitutional parameters. We are not policy makers and we can not substitute government policy but we will see that it is reasonable and within the constitutional framework," the bench said.
The court adjourned the matter for five weeks. The Confederation of All India Traders welcomed the court's observation on protecting the interests of small traders.
"The issues raised by court for the protection of small traders is a welcome step. We have always advocated that Centre must put in place mechanism or regulatory framework to protect the interest of small traders who are very apprehensive about the FDI policy in retail," general Secretary of Praveen Khandelwal said.
