The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the privatisation of Mangaluru International Airport. The petition was moved by Airports Authority Employees Union.
While dismissing the plea, a Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Sachin Shankar Magadum relied on a Kerala High Court decision which held that since leasing the airports is a policy decision taken by the Government of India, no interference of the Court is required.
The plea had sought to quash a 2019 cabinet decision approving the bid to lease out three airports including the one at Mangaluru to Adani Enterprises.
2. The petition challenged the Centre’s decision to privatize six airports, terming the same as “illegal, arbitrary and beyond the scope of the Airport Authority Act, 1994.”
Senior Advocate Ashok Haranahalli, appearing for the petitioners, referred to Section 12 of the Airports Authority of India Act and submitted,
The premises of the airport can be leased but my submission is that the entire airport is given away to a private person for operations.”
Referring to the lease agreement, he pointed out that there was no revenue sharing with the government and that the entire fixation of the lease is on per passenger fee. Haranahalli had further submitted that,
“Runways and taxiways and aircraft rescue fire buildings are also leased out. These are part of air traffic service, they could not have been leased at all…Virtually, the control over aviation services is given to them, it is contrary to AAI Act.”
Even though it is called a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) project, there is no revenue generated for formulation of PPP partnership, he pointed out.
[…] ಈ ಅರ್ಜಿಯನ್ನು ವಿರೋಧಿಸಿ, ಒಕ್ಕೂಟ ಸರ್ಕಾರದ ಪರವಾಗಿ ಹೆಚ್ಚುವರಿ ಸಾಲಿಸಿಟರ್ ಜನರಲ್ ಎಂಬಿ ನರಗುಂದ ಹಾಜರಾಗಿದ್ದರು. ಅರ್ಜಿದಾರರ ಒಕ್ಕೂಟದ ಒಂದು ಶಾಖೆಯು ಕೇರಳ ಹೈಕೋರ್ಟ್ಗೆ ಕೂಡಾ ಅರ್ಜಿ ಸಲ್ಲಿಸಿದೆ ಎಂದು ನ್ಯಾಯಾಲಯಕ್ಕೆ ತಿಳಿಸಿದ ನಂತರ ಅರ್ಜಿಯನ್ನು ವಜಾಗೊಳಿಸಲಾಗಿದೆ. […]