NICE files caveat in SC

NICE goes to SC with caveat
The Times of India

Bangalore: Discussions are on with Karnataka’s legal counsel Fali S. Nariman in New Delhi to decide what kind of appeal should be preferred in the Supreme Court on the Karnataka high court judgment over the BMIC project.

Law minister H.K. Patil told reporters here on Thursday: “Our top officials including chief secretary K.K. Misra and law secretary Robinson D’Souza have held one round of discussions with Nariman. We will try to finalise its form and file our appeal before the apex court goes on vacation from May 13.’’

Meanwhile, project promoters NICE filed a caveat in the Supreme Court on Thursday by the virtue of which it gets to present its views before any case related to the issue is admitted.

According to sources, former solicitor-general Soli Sorabjee is likely to represent Misra while Nariman the government.
NICE officials said senior counsel Dushyanth Dave will represent them in the Supreme Court. Dave had represented the company in the Karnataka High Court.

Work at the project site is on full swing. Company officials said they are working to a deadline to complete the phase I of the expressway.

The Tuesday’s court verdict has evoked interest in the PMO quarters. According to sources, Baba Kalyani, chairman, Kalyani group of companies, sent the gist of the verdict to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Kalyani and Singh had met up over the project in New Delhi a few months back.

Public works minister H.D. Revanna said efforts will be made to prevent farmers’ lands from being used for non-road purposes. The government has no objections over giving land for constructing roads, but it will not keep quiet if the land of the farmers is taken away, Revanna said.

Tejeswini meets Sonia
Bangalore: Congress MP Tejeswini Sriramesh met party president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday and submitted a copy of the high court order on BMIC. “Sonia is seriously concerned about the issue. I am meeting her again with Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Friday to explain in detail about the project,’’ Tejeswini told The Times of India from New Delhi.

HC recalls state’s ‘antecedents’

Bangalore: Passing strictures against chief secretary K.K. Misra on Tuesday, the High Court has recalled Supreme Court’s castigation of Karnataka bureaucrats.

Misra has been charged by the High Court with perjury and suppression of information in the BMIC project.
The High Court recalled the Supreme Court order: “We must caution the High Court of Karnataka that it should be very vigilant in accepting as correct a statement even though it be made on oath on behalf of the state government.

“It is unfortunate that we should have to say this of a state government but the record before us leaves us no option. The learned counsel for the state government submits that we should not make this general observation in respect of affidavits filed on behalf of the government. We have done so because the chief secretary does not seem particularly troubled by the fact that a statement was made on oath on behalf of the government before the court which was not correct.’’

In its 95-page order, the court also observed: “The change of stand by Karnataka government towards the project was not because of any fraud or misrepresentation as the chief secretary in his affidavit wants us to believe. The stand was changed when the new minister for public works sent a note on July 6, 2004 to the PWD principal secretary.’’

The order quoted the note, where the minister had pointed out that former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda had sometime back made serious allegations that the project to be constructed by NICE had been allowed to be converted into a real estate business instead of providing infrastructure facilities. He directed documents in regard to the project to be placed with him within two weeks.

“Meanwhile, he directed withdrawal of instructions to the board for issuing final notification for acquiring 2,317 acres of land for the project. All this happened after the change of government in the end of May 2004 and that the project was likely to be shelved because of political and extraneous considerations,’’ the court stated.

ON K.C. REDDY

“It is interesting to note that Shri K.C. Reddy who is the chairman of the expert committee was also a member of the HLC which had approved the project and was associated with it till the signing of the FWA which provides for 20,193 acres of land to be made available. Shri K.C. Reddy did not record his dissent in those proceedings and at no stage did ever point out that the land that was sought to be provided for the project was in excess of what was required but now as the chairman of the expert committee he has, without identifying the excess lands which he has left for the board to identify, opined that excess land has been acquired for the project. We cannot appreciate such a conduct.’’

ON THE LEGAL STATUS OF NICE

“Consortium as such was not a legal entity and it could act only through some person or body corporate and therefore the members of the consortium decided to incorporate Nandi as a corporate vehicle for the implementation of the project. Having known all these facts, the state government after examining the FWA critically at all levels entered into the agreement with Nandi for implementation of the project and therefore it does not lie in its mouth to content it was a victim of fraud and misrepresentation.’’

Stay on Arkavathy order extended

Bangalore: Following a fresh batch of appeals by the BDA against a single judge’s order on the Arkavathy project, a division Bench of high court on Thursday issued a three-week interim stay on the single judge’s order.

The BDA has sought the setting aside of the order which had ruled that BDA does not have the jurisdiction to implement the Arkavathy housing sites project. On May 3, when the first set of appeals against the order came up before HC, the vacation division Bench, comprising Justice H.L. Dattu and Justice A.C. Kabbin, had granted an interim stay of one week.

On Thursday when the second batch of appeals came up, the court granted a stay till May 25 on the April 15 order.
“Stay granted despite objections of respondents since we are of the view that appelant has made a prima facie case for consideration and decision of this court,’’ the Bench said in its interim order on Thursday. The BDA and the land owners in the Arkavathy project area were on May 3 asked to maintain status quo in the area.