The Supreme Court on Friday closed the Centre’s curative plea challenging the decision that allowed GMR Airports Limited to upgrade and operate the Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport in Nagpur, endorsing the company’s legal position. The plea by the Centre and the Airport Authority of India (AAI) was deemed not to meet the necessary legal standards for such a challenge, based on a 2002 judgment in the Rupa Ashok Hurra case which permits curative petitions only under specific violations like the principle of natural justice or judicial bias.
During the proceedings, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta advised against the continuation of the curative plea, stating it did not satisfy the criteria set for reconsidering judgments, specifically highlighting the absence of bias or violation of natural justice in the initial ruling. The special bench, consisting of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, Justices Sanjiv Khanna, B R Gavai, and J K Maheshwari, considered Mehta’s independent professional opinion and concluded that the plea did not warrant further examination.
The case’s complexity was evident as the bench weighed the implications of not including the Centre and the AAI as necessary parties in the litigation, a point initially brought up in the challenged judgment. However, they decided that any negative implications of this oversight did not merit reopening the case. This decision reaffirms the original verdict from May 9, 2022, which upheld a Bombay High Court order quashing a March 2020 communication by MIHAN India Ltd., a joint venture firm, that had cancelled a contract awarded to GMR for airport operations.
The Supreme Court’s dismissal emphasizes adherence to contractual fairness and the rule of law in government dealings.
