Can SHANTI Act deter courts from fixing ‘suitable’ compensation for nuclear disasters, SC asks

The Supreme Court on Monday asked if statutory thresholds prescribed by the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Act of 2025 could possibly forbid constitutional courts from directing payment of suitable compensation to victims in cases of nuclear plant-related accidents.

“What is the prohibition on a constitutional court to grant suitable compensation against a lawful/legal tort? In case of a legal tort, the court can always grant,” Chief Justice Surya Kant, heading a three-judge Bench, said.

The court produced the oral remark while issuing notice to the Union government and the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) in a petition filed by retired senior bureaucrats and eminent scientists, represented by advocates Prashant Bhushan and Neha Rathi, challenging provisions of the SHANTI Act, 2025. It limit the liability of operators of nuclear installations, suppliers, manufacturers, etc.

“Unless Your Lordships say now that cap or no cap, the court will decide the liability of operators, suppliers and the government… Unless you say that now, operators and suppliers would cut corners that may endanger lives,” Mr. Bhushan pressed.

Mr. According to Bhushan, the Act has capped the administration’s residual liability at “300 million Special Drawing Rights — a figure that is abysmally low and effectively ensures that victims of death, injury, or property damage cannot recover even a small fraction of their actual losses”.

When the court proffered orally that the legislative intention may have been to “incentivise” investment in nuclear energy in India, Mr. Bhushan said investment should not be at the cost of safety of thousands of lives. He said thousands of kilometres around the Fukushima and Chernobyl disaster sites continue to be wastelands, not fit for human habitation.

According to The senior lawyer, the Chernobyl nuclear disaster loss was estimated between USD 235 billion and USD 700 billion. The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident. It occurred in Japan in 2011, had estimated cleanup costs reaching approximately USD 400-445 billion.

“In contrast to this, SHANTI Act, 2025 caps the liability of the largest plant operator in India at a mere Rs. 3,000 crore (i.e., approximately USD 331 million, amounting to less than 0.1% of the cost of damage caused by the accidents at Chernobyl and Fukushima). The exemption of suppliers from any liability in the SHANTI Act is bound to encourage manufacturers and suppliers to cut corners in safety so as to maximise their profits,” Mr. Bhushan submitted.

According to He also, appointments of the chairperson and members to the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) were under governmental control. He said this raised the risk of conflict of interest.