New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a petition filed by the State Government and others seeking review of the April 20 judgment directing it to proceed with the Rs. 2,250-crore Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) project.

A Bench comprising Justices Ruma Pal and B.N. Srikrishna (both retired) and Justice Dalveer Bhandari, while dismissing the appeals, had said that "considering the frivolous arguments and the mala fides with which the State of Karnataka and its instrumentalities have conducted this litigation before the High Court and us, it shall pay Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise Ltd. costs quantified at Rs. 5 lakh within four weeks." Thereafter, implementation of the project became a major controversy with the Government appointing an inquiry commission to look into its aspects.

On Thursday, a three-judge Bench comprising Justices K.G. Balakrishnan, S.B. Sinha and Bhandari rejected the review petitions in the chamber.

In its review petition, the State Government said that it was severely affected by the impugned judgment which had far-reaching impact on the exchequer and welfare of the general public.

"At stake in these proceedings are thousands of acres of government land and land of private parties worth several thousands of crores of rupees, which will be irretrievably lost and accrue as unwarranted private gain to the developer," it said.

The petition said that after examination of records and material, the Government was prima facie satisfied that there was excess land sought to be given to contractor Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprises (NICE), which merited detailed enquiry/examination and remedial measures.

Hassan Correspondent reports:

Reacting to rejection of the review petition, Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy said the Government would take an appropriate decision after consulting legal experts.

He was in Hassan on Thursday to inaugurate Ambedkar Bhavan and lay foundation stone for "Zilla Patrakartara Bhavan."

He told presspersons that he honoured the verdict as he had high regard for the judiciary but would not consider it as a setback to the Government. All steps in the framework of law would be taken to protect the land belonging to the poor, he added. The former Prime Minister and Janata Dal (Secular) president H.D. Deve Gowda, who was also present on the occasion, said the Government would take steps to save the land belonging to farmers under Article 32 of the Constitution.

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