SC deep freezes anti-retail FDI petition
right to frame policy and it had been "mandated" to rule the country but it has to listen to the Parliament which it is accountable to.
"Policy formulation is the sole prerogative of the executive. Parliamentary committee may advise as philosopher and guide. But what is good is to be decided by the executive.
Executive must listen to the Parliament as it is accountable to the Parliament," the bench said.
"Executive is entitled to have their own perception. It has been mandated to rule," the bench said adding "We have not said that economic policy must be beyond the judicial review but court should be extremely slow in interfering in policy matters."
The court was hearing a PIL filed by lawyer M L Sharma, challenging Centre's policy allowing FDI in retail sector.
In the meanwhile the Attorney General informed the bench that RBI has amended the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) regulations to allow implementation of the government's policy and it has also been notified.
The lawyer also challenged the constitutional validity of the provision under which companies would be allowed to operate in the country despite not getting approval of the Parliament.
The bench said that it will hear his contentions and the Attorney General on this aspect if it was necessary and adjourned the case.
On the last hearing on October 15 the had refused to stay the Centre's decision to allow FDI in retail sector saying that the policy suffers from "curable" irregularity of want of legal sanction and asked the RBI to amend
