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Government cannot act contrary to its promises: SC

"The government cannot say that it is under no obligation to act in a manner, i.e., fair and just, or that it is not bound by the considerations of honesty and good faith," a three-judge bench of the apex court said recently.

This ruling was given by a bench comprising Justice B N Kirpal, Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justice Arijit Passayat while dismissing a petition challenging the validity of an Andhra Pradesh notification withdrawing the tax benefit given to buses with All India tourist permits.

In cases where the government was required to carry out a promise, the courts have to determine which way the equity rested - in government carrying out the promise and helping citizens or in the absence of it.

However, "it would not be enough just to say that the public interest requires that the government would not be compelled to carry out the promise or that the public interest would suffer if the government were required to honour it," the apex court clarified.

In order to resist its liability, the government would have to disclose to the court the grounds and details of the events for such a claim and then it would be open for the court to decide whether those events were such to enforce the liability against the government.

The three-judge bench said it was an equally well settled law that a promissory estoppel compelling the government or a public authority to carry out a promise which was prohibited by law or which was made by an officer without authority, could not be used.

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