Allowing Adani to operate Thiruvananthapuram Airport is arbitrary and illegal: Kerala Govt moves Supreme Court against High Court order

The Kerala government has moved the Supreme Court seeking a stay on the October 19 judgment of the Kerala High Court by which Adani Enterprises was allowed to operate, manage and develop the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport..The petition filed by Advocate CK Sasi challenges the "arbitrary and illegal action of the Airports Authority of India", to prefer Adani over the state government for management of the Thiruvananthapuram Airport..The plea invokes various grounds such as the absence of public interest in the grant of such concession, the same not being in the interest of better management of the Airport, and that the entire proceedings including tender process being vitiated by malafides and also in violation of the provisions of the Airports Authority of India Act, 1994..It is contended that grant of concession to Adani is in violation of an earlier undertaking by the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation rejecting the proposal of the state government to form a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to take over and run the Airport on a revenue-sharing basis. The State of Kerala has contended that granting concession to Adani, who has "no previous experience in managing airports", is not in public interest and is violative of the provisions of the Airports Authority of India Act, 1994 as well as the proprietary rights of the state government as regards the land on which the Thiruvananthapuram Airport is situated..Highlighting how the state government has handled and managed airports before, it is submitted that the Kochi International Airport at Nedumbasserry, Ernakulam, which is being operated by state government sponsored Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL), is one of the leading airports the world over..The State has further submitted that it acted on the assurance given that in the event an SPV is set up for the Thiruvananthapuram Airport, then the value of land would need to be reflected as the Kerala government's share capital. The plea states,"It is submitted that the principle of promissory estoppel has been evolved by equity to avoid injustice. This principle is applicable where one party has, by his words or conduct, made to the other a promise or assurance which was intended to affect the legal relations between them and to be acted on accordingly, then, once the other party has taken him at his word and acted on it, the party who gave the promise or assurance cannot afterwards be allowed to revert to the previous legal relationship as if no such promise or assurance had been made by him...".Thus, the petition submits that High Court erred in holding that there can be no claim of promissory estoppel on the ground that no promise was extended by the Central government or the Airports Authority of India at any point of time..Furthermore, it is stated that in November 2018, the Chief Minister of Kerala had written to the Union Civil Aviation Minister informing him that the state government has been actively associated in transferring land to the Airports Authority of India, without having any legal obligation to do so. This was done on the explicit understanding that the State of Kerala would be associated by forming an SPV whenever the Airports Authority felt the need to transfer the management of the airport to any entity..The plea also argues that the question of incentivizing a private bidder would only arise if the State did not have any preferential claim of managing the Thiruvananthapuram Airport. ."High Court failed to appreciate that there is clear malafide on the part of the Airport Authority of India in bidding process. The malafide on the part of Airport Authority of India are (i) firstly not requiring any airport management experience as a prerequisite to make a bid and (ii) secondly requiring that the financial bid qua one airport would be sufficient to bid for all six airports as well..."Plea filed in Supreme Court.Last month, the Kerala High Court rejected challenges to the Central government's decision to lease out the Thiruvananthapuram Airport to Adani Enterprises..The High Court had last year dismissed the challenges made, but revoked its rejection after the Supreme Court directed it to reconsider its decision and decide the matter on merits.