Landmark judgement: HC clears corridor for BMIC

HC clears corridor for BMIC
Court Orders Prosecution Of Chief Secy For Perjury
The Times of India

Bangalore: A division Bench of the Karnataka High Court on Tuesday cleared legal blocks to the Bangalore Mysore Infrastructure Corridor Project (BMIC) and ordered its expeditious implementation by the Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise.

The division Bench has in the same breath ordered initiation of criminal proceedings against state chief secretary K.K. Misra and under-secretary, industries and commerce, M. Shivalingaswamy, for ‘knowingly withholding’ facts and making ‘false statements’ in the high court on the BMIC project. Misra is due to retire in June.

In a 95-page order, following three public interest litigations filed for and against the BMIC project, a division Bench comprising Chief Justice N.K. Sodhi and Justice B. Padmaraj ordered implementation of the project as originally conceived keeping, in letter and spirit, to the Framework Agreement signed by the state and NICE on April 3, 1997.

The court allowed two PILs, by the All India Manufacturers’ Organisation and Mysore Mayor Dakshinamurthy, seeking speedy completion of the project. The Bench dismissed, with a fine of Rs 50,000, a third PIL filed by JD(U) MLA J C Madhuswamy, seeking a CBI probe. The court has ruled that the government had sponsored Madhuswamy’s petition, on which the HC said, “it is unfortunate the petitioners and government have chosen to raise this bogey to defeat the public project, subserving public interest’’. The chief secretary and the under-secretary had in separate statements told the high court that NICE had become the primary implementors of the project through fraud and misrepresentation. They had stated that the state had not been a party to the assigning of the BMIC project to NICE by the original consortium, which had signed the initial agreement for the project. After perusing documents, the HC concluded that the government’s argument of fraud and misrepresentation does not hold water. “We fail to understand at what stage fraud was played,’’ it observed.

The affidavit filed by the chief secretary on March 31, 2004, alleging fraud is “conspicuously silent on the documents perused by the court and the chief secretary suppressed facts and documents from this court in his anxiety to contend that the Framework Agreement was a result of fraud and misrepresentation,’’ the court noted.

The Bench further observed that the state had been going along with the project for nearly seven years and changed its stand only after the new PWD minister (H D Revanna) sent a note on July 6, 2004 to the principal secretary, PWD, stating that former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda had made serious allegations regarding the project. The plea of fraud and misrepresentation has been made as an afterthought, the court said.

Also, despite strong legal precedents against making false statements on oath, the state authorities behaved in a reprehensible manner, the HC said. “We will have to take some harsher measures to make them realise that it is of utmost importance that statements on oath in the high court should be made with due care and caution and all necessary facts as they appear on record must truthfully be placed before the court without suppressing or withholding any fact or document,’’ the Bench observed.

The court has also quashed orders of the government dated Nov. 4, 2004 and Dec. 17, 2004 constituting the K.C. Reddy committee to reassess the project. All orders and proceedings of the government based on the committee’s findings have also been quashed.

The court has also upheld acquisition of 20,193 acres of land for the project, as envisaged by the Framework Agreement.

WHAT’S IN STORE FOR CS
Complaint against him for giving false evidence will be forwarded to Sessions court by HC Registrar Judicial.
Court takes cognisance of the offence.
Reasonable opportunity given to explain why he must not be punished
Trial ordered if explanation not sufficient
If found guilty imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months, or fine which may extend to Rs 500, or both.
Chief secretary can file plea in Supreme Court and seek stay on HC order

HC STICK FOR NETAS
We wonder why it became necessary for the state government to put up petitioners to sponsor its cause. Could it not itself have taken action in the matter and cancelled the contract and thrown Nandi out? Obviously, this course was not adopted because the government knew there was no fraud or misrepresentation.
The court cannot allow its process to be abused by politicians and others to delay the implementation of a project which is in the larger public interest.
Since the project has been implemented by Nandi for more than seven years, we do not think that the state government can be permitted to change its stand and contend that the land allotted for the project is in excess of what is required.
The state government, after examining the FWA critically at all levels, entered into the agreement with Nandi for the implementation of the project; therefore, it does not lie in its mouth to contend that it was victim of fraud and misrepresentation.

VOICES
I will file a defamation suit against Deve Gowda. Public works minister Revanna and PWD adviser K.C. Reddy must resign. God has given me an opportunity to clean up the system and I will use it. Now businessmen know they don’t have to bend to political blackmail or be hostage to individual whims.
— NICE MD Ashok Kheny

I represent the five crore people of Karnataka. I am not a worker of Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise who will resign when they want me to. I will react suitably at the right time.
— Public works minister H.D. Revanna

We will go in appeal to the Supreme Court and extend all support to chief secretary K.K. Misra and under-secretary (commerce and industries) M. Shivalingaswamy.
— Karnataka cabinet

“It’s a war-like situation. The order is a setback as chief secretary K.K. Misra has only executed the government’s orders.’’
— A senior minister