Mumbai: Bombay high court on Monday imposed a cost of Rs 50,000 on a man who challenged a contract awarded by the former state govt to Adani Transmission for the supply of 6,600 MW renewable and thermal power in the state.
“In our opinion, filing such a petition/PIL containing unsubstantiated and reckless averments runs a risk of sometimes even good causes being lost,” said Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Amit Borkar.
They dismissed a petition by Shriraj Aepurwar, who claimed that by awarding of the contract to Adani, his fundamental right of access to electricity at a reasonable rate was violated. His advocate, Anand Jhondhale, alleged that former chief minister Eknath Shinde was hand-in-glove with Gautam Adani.
The petitinoer also said that while a 2021 PIL was pending, the contract was awarded. He relied on a document against Adani in a US district court related to alleged bribery charges.
The judges said the petition is “highly misconceived, being based on completely unsubstantiated assertions which are not supported by material”. They said Aepurkar is not a participant in the tender and if his petition were a PIL, it would not absolve him of the legal duty to institute proceedings with adequate material/documents/evidence to substantiate averments against individuals holding govt offices.
They directed the amount imposed as cost be given to the state legal services authority.
