ITC ordinance- Mockery of law?

By Vijay Kumar

The now infamous ITC Ordinance is ready to die, but why? Corporate India was aghast that the President would issue an ordinance to recover some amounts from a company when the Supreme Court said they were not recoverable. But the President did exactly that! The ordinance stated that

President is satisfied that circumstances exist which render it necessary for him to take immediate action;

So the Government had convinced the President that certain amendments were required to be made in the Central Excise Act, Rules and some notifications retrospectively and these could not wait till Parliament reassembled and so having been convinced that circumstances existed for him to take urgent action, he promulgated the Ordinance. And alas! The Ordinance is about to lapse! So much for presidential satisfaction!

But, NO! Look at the positive side. Here is a government that is responsive to public opinion and in true democratic traditions bowed to public opinion and let the ordinance lapse. Commendable gesture indeed!

Is the twenty-year old dispute finally settled? Is the Government going to refund to ITC instead of demanding from them? Newspapers report that Government is likely to discuss with ITC! What? After they have won in the Supreme Court?

In this whole episode there was one mature confident party – ITC itself. They did not comment about the ordinance while the rest of India screamed! They neither challenged the ordinance nor paid up the money that they were required to under the ordinance! Did they know that the ordinance was going to lapse?