Thiruvananthapuram Airport: Supreme Court remands case to Kerala High Court for decision on merits

The Supreme Court today remanded the case concerning the dispute over the management of Thiruvananthapuram Airport to the Kerala High Court..The Bench of Chief Justice of India SA Bobde and Justices BR Gavai and Surya Kant was told by Senior Advocate CU Singh, representing the State of Kerala, that the land allotted for the airport belongs to the state and was given free of cost for the development of the airport..It was on this ground that the state was claiming first right of refusal after the Centre had issued its request for proposal, it was argued..ASG KM Nataraj told the Court that the litigation was premature since the decision was not taken yet. This argument was, however, objected to by Singh as well as Senior Counsel Gopal Sankaranarayanan..Sankaranarayanan argued that the points raised in the writ petition filed by his client pertained to the terms and conditions in the RFP which said that the management of the airport will be granted for a period of 50 years which is against the provisions of the statute governing the issue..Singh argued that the point raised by the State of Kerala is limited to the aspect of maintainability on account of the dispute being of Centre-State nature and therefore a suit under Article 131 is not maintainable before the High Court..The Court asked the Counsel if they objected to the matter being remanded to the High Court to which Singh submitted that it is the specific prayer sought by the State..The Court therefore, remitted the case to the High Court to decide on merits while leaving the question under Article 131 open..The State of Kerala had moved the Supreme Court assailing the order of the Kerala High Court which dismissed its writ petition against the decision of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to hand over the operation, management and development of Thiruvananthapuram International Airport to Adani Enterprises Ltd..The petition before the High Court was filed on the grounds that the decision did not consider public interest and in fact vitiated the process of tender..Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.