No compulsion to take part in GIM, says court
Legal Correspondent
CHENNAI, JANUARY 22, 2019 00:00 IST
Reserves verdict on plea against event
The Madras High Court on Monday reserved its judgment on a public interest litigation petition filed by a Singapore-based private firm to restrain the State government from conducting the Global Investors Meet (GIM) on Wednesday and Thursday without framing guidelines to protect foreign investors from getting cheated by tainted domestic companies.
A Division Bench of Justices M. Sathyanarayanan and P. Rajamanickam deferred their verdict after wondering which law requires the State government to frame such guidelines. “What is your legal right? On what ground are you seeking such a direction to the State government?” the senior judge asked two senior counsel representing the petitioner firm.
‘Don’t participate’
When they contended that the government was bound to protect the interests of investors while spending public money to conduct such meets, the judge retorted: “The State government is organising the meet to attract investments and generate employment. Is there any compulsion on you to participate? If you are apprehensive, then don’t participate.”
Stating that there were enough laws in the country to deal with fraud, Mr. Justice Sathyanarayanan said, it was up to the investors and not for the State to do background check of the investors.
Earlier, Advocate General Vijay Narayan said the State spent Rs. 53 crore for conducting the meet. He said 2,900 people had registered online apart from 5,000 others who had been invited to participate in the meet. He lamented the practice of one or the other person filing cases against every other move taken by the government for the welfare of the State.
In so far as the present case was concerned, he said, the petitioner firm had attempted to give the colour of a PIL to a private dispute between it and another firm which had participated in the last GIM held in 2015.
Legal Correspondent
CHENNAI, JANUARY 22, 2019 00:00 IST
Reserves verdict on plea against event
The Madras High Court on Monday reserved its judgment on a public interest litigation petition filed by a Singapore-based private firm to restrain the State government from conducting the Global Investors Meet (GIM) on Wednesday and Thursday without framing guidelines to protect foreign investors from getting cheated by tainted domestic companies.
A Division Bench of Justices M. Sathyanarayanan and P. Rajamanickam deferred their verdict after wondering which law requires the State government to frame such guidelines. “What is your legal right? On what ground are you seeking such a direction to the State government?” the senior judge asked two senior counsel representing the petitioner firm.
‘Don’t participate’
When they contended that the government was bound to protect the interests of investors while spending public money to conduct such meets, the judge retorted: “The State government is organising the meet to attract investments and generate employment. Is there any compulsion on you to participate? If you are apprehensive, then don’t participate.”
Stating that there were enough laws in the country to deal with fraud, Mr. Justice Sathyanarayanan said, it was up to the investors and not for the State to do background check of the investors.
Earlier, Advocate General Vijay Narayan said the State spent Rs. 53 crore for conducting the meet. He said 2,900 people had registered online apart from 5,000 others who had been invited to participate in the meet. He lamented the practice of one or the other person filing cases against every other move taken by the government for the welfare of the State.
In so far as the present case was concerned, he said, the petitioner firm had attempted to give the colour of a PIL to a private dispute between it and another firm which had participated in the last GIM held in 2015.
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