"We can't reject the reference on the ground that it is malafide and misleading. The last sentence is unwarranted," a five-judge Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice S H Kapadia said while referring to the the submission of NGO, Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL).
CPIL's counsel Prashant Bhushan had concluded his arguments on the maintainability of the Presidential Reference by saying that "The basic object of the government in filing Reference is to continue with this opaque, non-competitive, and arbitrary method of allocation of natural resources like minerals, oil etc. To favoured companies at throwaway prices.
"Therefore, this is one additional reason for which this malafide reference should be rejected."
CPIL and Janata Party President Subramanian Swamy said the apex court should not extend any "help" to the Centre as entertaining the Reference would cause "impediment" and have "deep impact" on the trial of the case involving former Telecom Minister A Raja. (More)