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HC dismisses PIL against Reliance Jayankondam power project

A division bench of the Madras high court has declined to interfere with the Rs 150 billion Jayankondam power project contract awarded to Reliance Industries Limited by the Tamil Nadu Industries Development Corporation.

Dismissing the public interest litigation from Tamil Nadu People Welfare Association of Tiruchirapalli, the bench comprising Chief Justice M S Liberhan and Justice E Padmanabhan said the petitioner had neither substantiated that the award of the contract was not genuine nor proved any allegation that the Tidco Act was vitiated by arbitrariness.

Moreover, the party, who had lost the contract, has not challenged the award of contract, the bench added.

The petitioner said RIL which did not meet the requisite qualification was also involved in the 1997 Mukta Panna oilfield scam, resulting in a loss of Rs 75 billion to the exchequer.

On behalf of Tidco it was submitted that it had appointed a high- level committee, which considered the technical and financial capablities of the bidder.

The bench said no mandamus could be issued for finalising and awarding the tender in respect of a particular firm, keeping in view the other firms were not made parties to the litigation as it was for the state to accept or reject the tender.

Moreover, the state had not been made a party. It was only presumed by the petitioner that the stand taken by Tidco was arbitrary and unauthorised, the bench added.

The committee constituted by Tidco had acted in a bonafide manner in determining the conditions specified in the tender, the bench said.

UNI