KNN India, September 01, 2022
Policy circle on Wednesday organised an online discussion on how India can realise its ambition to become an economic superpower, overcoming the judicial blockades.
The webinar was attended by Badri Narayanan Gopalkrishnan, Head, Trade, Commerce and Strategic Economic Dialogue, NITI Aayog, Government of India; Pradeep S Mehta, Secretary-General of Consumer Unity and Trust Society (CUTS); Sunil Kumar Sinha, Principal Economist and Director, Public Finance at India Ratings and Research and Krishna Sharma, Business Lawyer.
During the session, the panel discussed the study conducted by CUTS International highlighting the underrated role of judicial decisions and its economic impact on the India’s business environment.
While analysing the impact of the multiple judicial decisions of the Supreme Court & NGT, Pradeep S.Mehta, founder and Secretary General of CUTS said, “The world is currently facing a historic dilemma of choosing between economic development and preservation of the environment. Most of the time, nations give priority to economic development as it is important for the livelihood of the citizens.”
Mehta stressed on the need for the judiciary to set up a mechanism by which it undertakes cost-benefit analysis of its decisions. He also suggested the setting up of a committee of experts which will collect evidence, identify erring parties, and help courts reach a balanced decision.
Badri Narayanan Gopalakrishnan, Lead Advisor and Head, Trade, Commerce, International Cooperation and Strategic Economic Dialogue at NITI Aayog emphasised that “There cannot be a trade-off between justice and growth. The burning question is can justice be blind to present economic imperative or is economically responsible justice after all possible.”
“The role the judiciary should be playing is to balance between justice and growth so that one is not sacrificed for the sake of the other. To that end, there is also a need for more judges and to increase efficiency of courts.” He added.
Sunil K Sinha, Senior Director, India Ratings and Research and Krishna Sarma, Managing Partner, Corporate Law Group also expressed their views. The discussion was moderated by Senior Journalist Anisha Nayar Dhawan.
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