Supreme Court grants relief to Adani Ports SEZ against Central Warehousing Corp

Supreme Court grants relief to Adani Ports SEZ against Central Warehousing Corp

Surprised by the observations, it junks the Gujarat High Court order

The Supreme Court has provided succor to Adani Ports Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZL) in its case against Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC).

The bench of Justice BR Gavai and Justice CT Ravikumar stated that it was shocked by the observations made by the Gujarat High Court and set aside its order. The court maintained the high court should have taken a balanced approach and not thrust a settlement to the advantage of a private entity and the detriment of a statutory corporation.

The high court had allowed APSEZL to acquire 34 acres of land adjacent to Mundra Port in Gujarat if the CWC failed to obtain approval or waiver of its warehousing facility as an SEZ-compliant unit within three months.

Aggrieved with the order, the CWC approached the top court. It contended that the order of the high court was almost like forcing it to reach a settlement.

The Supreme Court said that the high court should have stated that unless all conditions were complied with, the interest of the appellant-CWC would not be safeguarded. It should have been in the interest of both parties.

Thus, rejecting the order, the apex court remitted it back to the single-judge bench of the high court for considering it afresh. It also directed the case to be decided within six months.