Kochi: The Kerala High Court has rejected a petition filed by the state government against the transfer of management of the Thiruvananthapuram airport to the Adani Group. A bench of Justices K Vinod Chandran and TR Ravi dismissed the petitions filed by the state government and KSIDC challenging the central government’s action.
The court accepted the central government’s position that the transfer of the airport was a policy decision and with the approval of the Union Cabinet. The Center had said that tenders would not be given to those who quoted the highest amount. The court ruled that Kerala could not accept the argument that the process, including land acquisition, had been completed by the government. It is also not justifiable to say that it was wrong after cooperating with the tender process. The government’s argument that the profits of one airport cannot be diverted to another is also incorrect. The court also rejected the government’s claim that the auction was made only for Adani.
