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Hearing of petition against nuclear deal on Wednesday

New Delhi: The Supreme Court will hear on August 13 a public interest litigation petition challenging the nuclear deal between India and the United States.

Advocate Manohar Lal Sharma said he filed the petition to re-decide a short but most important constitutional question in the interest of the general public — whether the Centre was empowered to impose any American law upon India without legislative support as contemplated under Articles 107, 108 and 111 of the Constitution (legislative procedure).

He said that by this treaty, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was going to impose the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 as well as six other American laws upon India/citizen of India without following prescribed constitutional procedure. The Hyde Act was a law inserted to exempt certain requirements contemplated under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, including the nuclear agreement for cooperation with India.

The petition said:

“The Hyde Act discloses mandatory terms for the President of the U.S.A. to be complied with under Section 104 (g) Reporting to Congress: Information on nuclear activities in India: The President shall keep the appropriate Congressional committees fully and currently informed of the facts and implications of any significant nuclear activities of India, including any material non-compliance by the Government of India with the non-proliferation commitments undertaken in the Joint Statement of July 18, 2005 between the President of the United States and the Prime Minister of India; the U.S. Atomic Energy Act of 1954 and other laws are American laws and are binding upon the licensee, irrespective of American citizens or foreign citizens in all respects pertaining to the production, supply and export of nuclear material.”

The petitioner contended that the freedom of life, and liberty could not be staked on personal ego, profit, ambition and political gain, either directly or indirectly.

Once the treaty was approved, India was bound to follow all relevant American laws and freedom for business, finance and military systems in India would be in great danger.

He sought a direction to declare the deal ultra vires and unconstitutional.

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