GS Papers: GS2, GS3
What Happened
A bench of the Supreme Court comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi heard a Public Interest Litigation challenging several provisions of the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Act, 2025. Describing the matter as "extremely sensitive," CJI Surya Kant observed that there was a need to find a balance between "visible national interest" and a "hypothetical loss" in the event of a nuclear accident.
The bench characterised the core dispute as one between "tangible national interests" — India's urgent energy needs and decarbonisation goals — and an "unfortunate hypothetical loss" in the event of a nuclear incident. The court has asked petitioners to submit comparative regulatory mechanisms from other countries, and the matter will be taken up for detailed hearing after the Holi vacation.
The petition was filed by former civil servants and challenges Sections 11, 13, and related provisions of the SHANTI Act. The petitioners allege that these sections unconstitutionally dilute operator and supplier liability, violate fundamental rights under Articles 14, 19, and 21, and that Section 39 — which empowers the government to exempt nuclear power stations from the RTI Act — violates the right to information under Article 19(1)(a).
Static Topic Bridges
1. The SHANTI Act, 2025 — What It Does
The SHANTI Act (Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India) was enacted in 2025 as a landmark reform of India's nuclear governance. Its most significant changes are:
- Permitting private sector — including foreign companies — to set up and operate nuclear power plants, ending the decades-long government monopoly.
- Capping total liability per nuclear incident at the rupee equivalent of 300 million Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) — approximately ₹3,864 crore or US$430 million (as of January 2026).
- Creating a graded operator liability schedule ranging from ₹100 crore (smaller reactors) to ₹3,000 crore (reactors above 3,600 MW thermal capacity).
- Significantly narrowing the operator's right of recourse against suppliers — now possible only where expressly stated in a written contract, or where the nuclear incident results from deliberate intent.
- Empowering the Central Government (under Section 39) to exempt nuclear stations from RTI disclosures.
The Act supersedes the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage (CLND) Act, 2010, which had a supplier liability clause (Section 17(b)) that was cited as a key barrier to foreign nuclear investment — particularly by US companies under the Indo-US civil nuclear deal.
2. Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage — The Policy Tension
The CLND Act, 2010 had a distinctive supplier liability clause (Section 17) that gave operators the right of recourse against equipment suppliers in the event of a nuclear incident caused by latent defects. This made India's liability framework divergent from the international norm set by the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage (CSC), which India ratified in 2016. Under the CSC framework, liability rests primarily with the operator, and suppliers are protected — a design intended to encourage technology transfer.
The SHANTI Act moves India closer to the CSC model, limiting supplier liability to contractually agreed situations or wilful acts. Petitioners argue this amounts to privatising profits while socialising accident costs — a constitutional challenge under Article 21 (right to life) given the catastrophic scale of nuclear accidents. The court's framing of the debate as "tangible national interests vs. hypothetical loss" signals its intention to weigh both dimensions carefully.
3. India's Nuclear Energy Roadmap and Energy Transition
India's installed nuclear capacity as of early 2026 stands at approximately 7,480 MW across 24 reactors operated by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL). The government's target is to expand nuclear capacity to 100 GW by 2047 — from under 8 GW today — as part of the energy transition strategy under the Panchamrit commitments made at COP26.
Nuclear power is projected to play a key role in India's decarbonisation plan because it provides baseload, dispatchable, zero-carbon electricity — unlike intermittent solar and wind. Achieving 100 GW would require massive capital investment (estimated at over ₹10 lakh crore) and technology partnerships, which the SHANTI Act's private sector opening is designed to enable. This is the "tangible national interest" the court referenced.
4. RTI Exemption and the Right to Information
Section 39 of the SHANTI Act allows the Central Government to exempt nuclear power stations from the RTI Act, 2005. The petitioners argue this imposes a blanket restriction on citizens' access to information about nuclear plants — information relevant to safety, environmental impact, and public health — and violates Article 19(1)(a), which guarantees freedom of speech and expression including the right to receive information.
The Supreme Court in Anuradha Bhasin v. Union of India (2020) affirmed that the right to access the internet and information is a fundamental right. RTI exemptions in nuclear matters are not new — the CLND Act itself had provisions restricting certain disclosures — but a blanket executive power to exempt entire stations is qualitatively broader and is being tested for constitutional proportionality.
Key Facts and Data
- SHANTI Act: Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India Act, 2025
- Total nuclear liability cap: 300 million SDRs ≈ ₹3,864 crore ≈ US$430 million
- Graded operator liability: ₹100 crore (small reactors) to ₹3,000 crore (above 3,600 MW)
- India's current nuclear capacity: ~7,480 MW (24 reactors under NPCIL)
- Government target: 100 GW nuclear capacity by 2047
- Chernobyl estimated damage: US$235–700 billion; Fukushima: US$400–445 billion
- India ratified Convention on Supplementary Compensation (CSC): 2016
- Petition challenges: Sections 11, 13 (liability caps), Section 39 (RTI exemption)
- Articles cited in petition: 14 (equality), 19 (free speech, RTI), 21 (right to life)
- SC bench: CJI Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi
- Next hearing: post Holi vacation, 2026