The Supreme Administrative Court's ruling that derailed the privatisation of the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand came from a legal technicality that imposed no political responsibilities on the government, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said yesterday.

"It's all about legal aspects with which I am not familiar," Thaksin said. "The matter requires clarification by legal advisers. I have not read and studied the verdict in detail as yet. Let's just say we respect the court's decision."

Responding to a legal opinion by law expert and former minister Meechai Ruchupan that the caretaker government must be held responsible for the Egat saga under the Constitution's Article 212, Thaksin said he saw no relation between the government being made responsible and the court reaching the verdict the way it did.

"Otherwise the matter could have instigated an institutional conflict between the government and the court," he said, without elaborating.

On his website, www.meechaithailand.com, Meechai said Article 212 required an administration which failed to deliver its policies to "show responsibility" to the Parliament.

"Since there is no Parliament available now, the prime minister and minister responsible for tabling the Egat privatisation proposal cannot deny their responsibility."

He said Egat's status would revert to a state-enterprise agency.

Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva praised the people's fight against the government's attempt to privatise Egat, saying they had fought fair and had relied on the judicial system. He praised the court for being "the people's hope, and was free and independent from government influence".

The opposition leader said privatisation of any state enterprise was legitimate in principle but Egat was an exception that was aimed at giving away state property to benefit certain prospective stakeholders.

"Egat property, which had been expropriated under state authority, could not simply be given away to stockholders," he said.

Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said it was unlikely the Egat ruling would be applied to the privatisation schemes of seven other state enterprises which had been already processed, or to any of the government's privatisation of state enterprises in the future.

Wissanu, a legal expert with a doctorate degree, said he needed to read and study the ruling thoroughly.

He said Egat Plc would be no more and that the original status of Egat would be restored to what it was on June 23 last year before its initial public offering was launched.

Chamlong Srimuang, one of the leaders of the anti-government movement, called on Thaksin and the entire Cabinet to resign over the Egat ruling. "If the ministers are so shameless, we the anti-government front have to demand their resignation, to make them shameful of themselves," he said.