# SC questions nuclear accident compensation cap under SHANTI Act 2026-08-17T09:18:39+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 2 independent outlets The Supreme Court on Monday sought clarification from the Centre on whether the SHANTI Act bars constitutional courts from awarding fair compensation in case of a nuclear accident. A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana issued a limited notice while hearing a plea by former bureaucrat EAS Sarma and others. Petitioner's advocate Prashant Bhushan argued that the Act caps operator liability at Rs 4,000 crore, which is paltry compared to potential damages of tens of thousands of crores. Times Now reports the cap as Rs 3,000 crore, while Times of India puts it at Rs 4,000 crore. Bhushan said this could make foreign suppliers lax on safety. The bench also asked the Centre to clarify whether appointing Atomic Energy Regulatory Body members on the Atomic Energy Commission's recommendation creates a conflict of interest. The SHANTI Act replaced the 2010 nuclear liability law and allows private firms to set up nuclear plants. The court observed that Parliament capping operator liability does not prevent courts from granting just compensation. The next hearing is awaited. ## Coverage - timesnownews.com - timesofindia.indiatimes.com This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above. Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources. Last updated 2026-08-18T03:21:06+00:00. Tags: AERB, CJI Surya Kant, EAS Sarma, Prashant Bhushan, SHANTI Act, Supreme Court of India Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/supreme-court-questions-shanti-act-compensation-cap-seeks-reply/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/supreme-court-questions-shanti-act-compensation-cap-seeks-reply/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/