In a relief to stakeholders of Kempegowda International Airport, the Karnataka High Court on Wednesday declined to interfere in the decision of the Union government for closing HAL airport for commercial and civil aviation operations in May 2008.
A Division Bench comprising acting Chief Justice Subhro Kamal Mukherjee and Justice B.V. Nagarathna said the court ‘cannot strike down a policy decision taken consciously by the government merely because it is submitted that a more fair or wise policy could have been adopted’.
“Generally speaking, the courts do not, in exercise of their power of judicial review interfere in the policy matters of the State, unless the policy so formulated either violates the mandate of the Constitution or any statutory provisions or otherwise actuated by mala fide . No such infirmities is present in this case. In certain matters, there can be varied opinions as to the wisdom of the policy, but the court is not expected to sit as an appellate authority thereon,” the Bench observed.
The Bench passed the order while dismissing PIL petitions, filed in 2008 by the Airport Authority Employees’ Union and the Association of Outsourcing Professionals.
The PILs had questioned the May 16 notification issued by the Ministry of Civil Aviation for closure of the HAL airport with effect from midnight of May 23, 2008, when the new airport at Devanahalli commenced commercial operations. The notification was issued under Clause 5.5 of the agreement signed between the Union government and the Bengaluru International Airport Limited (BIAL).
Letter
On the contention of the petitioners that both the HAL and the Ministry of Civil Aviation were ready for commercial and domestic civil operations from the HAL airport, the Bench said that such contentions cannot be accepted as the Minister for Civil Aviation in a letter written to the Minister for Defence on February 14, 2015 had stated that ‘the HAL airport cannot be considered for reopening before the 25{+t}{+h}anniversary of the international airport at Devanahalli’.
Noticing that ‘HAL airport never fell under the category of domestic civil airport’, the Bench also found that the then chairman of HAL had in 1990 written to the Union government to find an alternative place for civil aviation while expressing concern over safety of operating test flights and other defence related operations from HAL airport due to the increase in civil aviation operations.
The airport at Devanahalli was set up under Greenfield Airport Policy in public private partnership (PPP) model with private promoters owning 74 per cent, and rest being shared by the Union and the Karnataka governments.
