The Supreme Court dismissed a petition filed by the Kerala government and a few unions, challenging the decision of the Centre to hand over management of Thiruvananthapuram International Airport to Gautam Adani-owned Adani Enterprises Limited.
The state government, Airport Authority Employees Union (AAEU), and a few other unions had challenged in the apex court a Kerala High Court order upholding the leasing of the airport by Airports Authority of India (AAI) to the Adani Group.
An apex court bench of Chief Justice of India UU Lalit and Justice Bela M. Trivedi, on Monday, observed that the bid offered by Adani Group was 20 per cent more than the offer placed by Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation for the lease of the airport for 50 years.
The SC noted that the HC "rightly rejected" the claims of petitioners, reports Livelaw. The government had approached the HC after losing the bid.
The state government contended that leasing the management of Thiruvananthapuram Airport to Adani Group was not in public interest.
The court said the Adani Group has already taken over the "operation, management and development" of the airport since October 2021. "Considering the fact that the private entity has been in operation since October 2021, we see no reason to interfere," the SC noted.
On the argument by employees that conditions of their service would be affected by the takeover of the airport by Adani Group, the SSC said they were given the choice to either stay with the group or move to airports managed by AAI.
The apex court, however, said the question regarding the ownership of the land where the airport is situated, remains open.