NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court today, October 17, dismissed petitions by Kerala government and others challenging the judgment of the Kerala High Court allowing Adani Enterprises to operate, manage and develop the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport.

A bench consisting of Chief Justice U.U. Lalit and justice Bela M. Trivedi said that there is no need to overturn the High Court's ruling at this time.  This is because a private company has been running the airport's operations since October of last year.

The Airport Authority Employees Union (AAEU) and other parties' appeal of the High Court ruling was likewise rejected by the judges. "Considering that the private entity has been in business since October 2021, we see no need to interfere," the bench said in dismissing the applications. 

The highest court did, however, make it clear that the issue of who owns the property on which the airport is located will still be up for debate. Senior attorney C.U. Singh argued before the bench that the state government owned the land where the airport is located and should be given preferred privileges. 

He also claimed that the RFP was prepared specifically to benefit the Adani company. The court did note that the state government did not contest the RFP requirements, but rather took part in the bid.

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