By IANS,
New Delhi : The Supreme Court will give its opinion Thursday on the presidential reference on whether auction was the only method of allocating natural resources for commercial exploitation by private players.
A five-judge bench comprising Chief Justice S.H. Kapadia, Justice D.K. Jain, Justice J.S. Khehar, Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Ranjan Gogoi had concluded the hearing Aug 16.
The presidential reference was filed April 12 and hearing on it began May 11.
Of the 12 questions raised in the reference, the government sought the court’s opinion on whether auctioning was the only permissible method for the disposable of all natural resources.
The reference asked whether following the auction route for the disposal of natural resources was not contrary to earlier judgments of the Supreme Court.
The reference was made in the wake of 2G verdict Feb 2, wherein the apex court said if scarce natural resources like spectrum were to be alienated by the state, then the only legal method was transparent public auction.
The apex court, while holding that first come, first served policy was flawed, cancelled 122 2G licences embedded with spectrum.
The court in the course of the hearing of the presidential reference observed that as part of the separation of powers between the three organs of state it could not shackle the executive to follow auction as the only method of allocating natural resources.