The Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy government in Andhra Pradesh, which has already been facing innumerable cases in various courts over its alleged controversial decisions, has now landed in yet another legal wrangle.
The latest decision of the Jagan government to sell its 10.4 per cent stake in Gangavaram Port Limted (GPL) to industrial major Adani Group to raise Rs 644.78 crore has been challenged in the high court by some people through a public interest litigation (PIL) petition.
A division bench of the high court comprising chief justice A K Goswami and justice N Jayasurya on Saturday took up a PIL filed by Dr Satya Bhoopal Reddy and Bontha Purnachandra Reddy of Prakasam district over the government’s decision to sell its 10.4 percent stake in Gangavaram Port to Adani group, which would now have 100 percent ownership over the port.
The petitioners asked the high court to order a comprehensive inquiry by Lok Ayukta into the deal with the Adani group and direct the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) to conduct a propriety audit into the deal.
Arguing on behalf of the government, state advocate general Subrahmanyam Sriram told the court that the decision to sell the government stake in the Gangavaram port was taken based on the recommendation of the high-power committee comprising senior officials. He requested the court to give some time to submit a detailed report on the entire deal.
Senior advocate G Venkateshwar Rao argued that the entire exercise was done in a secretive manner and the report of the high-power committee was not made public. The high court posted the matter to September 20 for further hearing.
A couple of weeks ago, the Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) of Adani group informed the stock exchange that the Andhra Pradesh government had approved the proposal for sale of its 10.4 percent stake in the Gangavaram Port (GPL) to the company for a sale consideration of Rs 644.78 crore. The transaction is expected to be completed within 1 month.
The APSEZ already has 89.61 per cent stake in the Gangavaram port, after it acquired controlling stake of 58.1 per cent equity from its original promoter D V S Raju and his family on March 23 this year for Rs 3.604 crore. Earlier in the same month, it acquired 31.5 per cent stake from Warburg Pincus.
If the Andhra Pradesh government offloads its stake of 10.4 per cent, the Adani Group would be holding 100 per cent equity in the Gangavaram port, which came into operation in July, 2009.
