HC dismisses plea against state contract to Adani Group

The Bombay high court on Monday dismissed a petition challenging the contract awarded by the state to the Adani Group, for supply of renewable and thermal power electricity, noting that the plea was unsubstantiated and reckless

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Monday dismissed a petition challenging the contract awarded by the state to the Adani Group, for supply of renewable and thermal power electricity, noting that the plea was unsubstantiated and reckless.

HC dismisses plea against state contract to Adani Group

A division bench of chief justice D K Upadhyaya and justice Amit Borkar also imposed a penalty of ₹50,000 on the petitioner, Shriraj Nageshwar Aepurwar.

The petition alleged that the contract awarded to an Adani Group firm for the supply of 6,600 megawatts of renewable and thermal power, was a violation of the petitioner’s fundamental right to have access to fair electricity supply at a reasonable rate.

It also levelled allegations against former chief minister Eknath Shinde, of having been involved in corrupt practices while awarding the contract to Adani Group.

The bench, however, refused to accept the contentions and said, “In our opinion, filing of such petitions containing unsubstantiated and reckless averments run the risk of sometimes even good causes being lost. The petition made vague and unsubstantiated assertions that the contract awarded was a scam involving government authorities.”

The court also said the petition did not contain any supporting materials to show that the former chief minister (Shinde) was involved in any corrupt practices. It noted that the petitioner was not a participant in the tender process.

“Certain vague and unsubstantiated assertions have been made describing the award of the subject contract as a “scam” involving government authorities. Averments have been made without any supporting material even against the former chief minister of the state levelling allegations of him resorting to corrupt practices and being hand in glove with the respondent No 2 (Adani Power) while awarding the contract,” the court said.

Calling the petition “vague”, the court dismissed the plea and directed the petitioner to deposit ₹50,000 with the Maharashtra State Legal Services Authority.