Don't dilute nuclear liability law: CPI-M

The government's reported effort to dilute the Civil Liability Nuclear Act to exempt US suppliers of reactors from the liability clause will be an illegal attempt to bypass the law passed by parliament, the CPI-M said Thursday. "The opinion given by the Attorney General is an interpretation of the law which does not hold," the Communist Party of India-Marxist said in a statement, referring to news reports on the subject.

"Even if under section 17(a) of the act, there is no right to recourse ritten into the contract, 17(b) provides for the right to recourse if the accident is caused by faulty material or equipment provided by the supplier," it said. "Hence, irrespective of the written contract, the right to recourse and the liability of the supplier will apply if there is supply of faulty material or equipment."

The statement followed a newspaper report that the government was looking to use the attorney-general's opinion to effectively neutralise a key provision of India's nuclear liability law that would hold American reactor suppliers liable in the event of an accident caused by faulty or defective equipment. 

The CPI-M said: "It is evident that the UPA government is succumbing to the pressure of the US administration to safeguard their companies' interests. But this cannot be at the expense of the interests of the country and the safety and security of Indian citizens."