New Delhi, May 20 -- The Supreme Court on Tuesday said the decision to cap the liability of private players in the event of a nuclear tragedy is a matter of "fiscal policy" that courts cannot second-guess, even as it agreed to examine in July a challenge to the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Act, 2025. A bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant said, "When the state, based on its own policy, decides to cap the liability of private entities under the Act, we are not here to second-guess it." The court was hearing a PIL filed by a group led by former bureaucrat EAS Sarma, which raised concerns over public safety due to provisions in the SHANTI Act capping the liability of private operators at as low as Rs.100 crore and limiting government's residual liability to $300 million (around Rs.3,000 crore). Appearing for the petitioners, advocate Prashant Bhushan argued that such provisions could encourage private suppliers to compromise on safety standards. He referred to laws in foreign jurisdictions where the liability of private entities is unlimited. The bench, also comprising justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi, said, "This Act is limiting the liability of persons who are coming to invest. That does not take away the power of constitutional courts to determine the compensation payable to a victim." Observing further, the court said, "We want to ensure people are safe and secure. Unfortunately, if an accident takes place and if a citizen suffers injury, our concern is do we have a robust compensatory mechanism. The Act does not say constitutional courts cannot do that." HTC...