New Delhi, Sept 25: Government is understood to have virtually halted the entire disinvestment process including the sale of its residual equity in privatised companies like VSNL, IBP and IPCL following apprehensions about the challenges to the process in the wake of the Supreme Court judgement halting privatisation of HPCL and BPCL created by an act of Parliament. The first such challenge has come in Madras High Court which yesterday asked the government not to take a final decision on privatisation of Madras Fertilisers till the verdict of the court on a petition challenging disinvestment in the PSU, although it allowed the Centre to continue the process.
There is a strong opinion in the government not to continue with the disinvestment till the answers were obtained on the constitutional questions raised by the supreme court, while halting the divestment in HPCL and BPCL till approval of Parliament.
Although the Supreme Court had not questioned the disinvestment programme of the government it had raised certain issues like the role of Parliament vis a vis disinvestment as shares in PSUs were bought from the consolidated fund approved by the legislature.
While a "political decision" will be taken by the Cabinet Committee on Disinvestment, chaired by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, on October 03 on the future course of action, it is unlikely that Disinvestment Ministry would go ahead with sale of shares either in PSUs or the residual stake in five companies that have been privatised in recent time. Bureau Report