May be bad, but can’t review all govt policies: Madras HC

CHENNAI: Certain policy decisions of the governments, though detrimental to people, cannot be subjected to judicial review and the courts, at times, avoid interfering in such matters, said Justice R Suresh Kumar of the Madras High Court. 

Referring to the issues of shifting of the Secretariat and Assembly complex from Omandurar Estate to Fort St George (taken by an AIADMK government) and continuation of the retail liquor sale policy, the judge said, “Even these kind of policy decisions, though detrimental to the interest of the people, cannot be questioned through a judicial review. Courts have laid off their hands at times when these policy decisions were questioned.” 

The judge noted that as far as taking a policy decision by an elected government is concerned, the law is well settled. Normally, judicial review doesn’t go against such a policy decision, unless there is a colourable exercise with rampant arbitrariness, which explicitly and shockingly strike the conscience of the court. 

He made the observations while dismissing two petitions seeking to quash the State government’s decision to abandon a project to establish a State-level training institute for cooperative department officers atop the Yercaud hills in Salem district. The construction began when the AIADMK was in power. The place was chosen because it is located in the home district of the then chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami.

With a change of regime, however, the new State government dropped the project. Instead, it proposed a project to establish a national-level training institute atop Kodaikanal. Challenging the government order to give up the project in Yercaud, G Sendrayan, president of Yercaud Lamp Cooperative Society, moved the high court.

He recalled that in a case challenging shifting of the Secretariat and Assembly Complex from Omandurar Estate, a division bench had held that a policy decision of the government cannot be questioned by alleging any legal malafide.

‘All decisions of previous govt need not be reviewed’

Justice Suresh Kumar also gave a few suggestions to the government on the question of continuing projects initiated by previous government. If a decision of the previous government is good to the public and the society at large, the succeeding government can very well continue the project. Succeeding government should bear in mind that huge funds already spent on projects initiated by the previous government should not go waste. All decisions of the previous regime need not be reviewed merely because of the difference in political dispensation. Certain ones, however, can be reviewed and alternative solutions can be taken if those decisions do not serve public welfare, he said.