No high court relief to tribunal’s visit to village

Indian Peoples Tribunal on Environment and Human Rights, which is to hold a public hearing in Jaitapur on the proposed nuclear power plant, got no relief from the Bombay high court on Friday. The judges declined to pass a formal order for its unrestricted visit to the village.

The court was hearing a petition filed by the tribunal comprising retired high court judges, former chief justice of Delhi high court AP Shah and former Supreme Court judge PB Sawant. 

“If it is in such an atmosphere, why do you want to hold it? If the state wants to be cautious, we cannot fault it. Retired judges are not experts in nuclear matters. It is as if you are running a parallel court,’’ said justice Marlapalle.