The Kerala government has moved to the Supreme Court on Tuesday to request a stay of the central government’s decisions to lease Thiruvananthapuram airport to Adani Enterprises. The petition notes the decision of the Airport Authority of India (AAI) to prefer a particular private concessionaire, Adani Enterprises, for the operation, management and development of Thiruvananthapuram International Airport as arbitrary and illegal.
The appeal has been filed by the Kerala government challenging the October 19 order of the Kerala High Court in Ernakulam whereby the court dismissed the Kerala government’s statement by holding that the challenge is against the airport privatization and privatization it is a political decision of the central government and therefore lacks merit. The Superior Court had also rejected the grounds of legitimate expectations raised by the State on the basis that there can be no claim for promissory estoppel since the Center has not extended any promises. (This principle is applicable when one of the parties, through their words or conduct, has made to the other a promise or guarantee that was intended to affect the legal relationships between them and that action will be taken accordingly).
The State alleges that the Center had assured the State that it would be consulted when making any privatization decision, taking into account its contribution to the cost of acquiring land for the expansion of the Airport. The allegation highlighted that the State, by Government Order dated March 29, 2005, had granted a sanction for the transfer of 27 acres of land in favor of AAI at no cost for the construction of a new airport. The petitioner has acted on the basis of the guarantee as, in the event that a special purpose vehicle is established for Thiruvananthapuram airport, the value of the land should be reflected as the equity capital of the Government of Kerala.
It is argued that the Superior Court proceeded on the erroneous premise that, according to Section 13 (2) of the 1994 Airport Authority Act, the land acquired by the State Government for the purpose of the Airport is owned by AAI and the The State cannot participate in any ownership of said property since the acquisition and transfer of the properties was carried out voluntarily without conditions and without pursuing claims of equity participation.
The motive also alleges that the entire bidding process is flawed, since it violates the provisions of the AAI, 1994 (Law). Furthermore, the attempt by the AAI to grant the right of Operation, Management and Development of Thiruvananthapuram Airport, to a private party, who has no previous experience in airport management, is not in the public interest and violates the provisions of the Act, as well as the property rights of the State Government regarding the land on which the Thiruvananthapuram airport is located.
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