Central Warehousing Corporation Vs Adani Ports Special Economic Zone Limited (APSEZL) And Others (Supreme Court of India)
The Supreme Court allowed the appeals filed by Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC) against the judgment and order dated 30th June 2021 of the Division Bench of the Gujarat High Court in LPA No. 22 of 2017 and connected proceedings concerning CWC’s warehouse situated on approximately 34 acres within the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) developed by Adani Ports Special Economic Zone Limited (APSEZL). The Court held that the High Court’s approach had effectively forced CWC, a statutory body, to accept part of a composite settlement while leaving the third condition concerning underwriting of future business risk unresolved. The Supreme Court found this approach wholly untenable and held that the first two conditions could not be separated from the third condition because APSEZL’s offer and CWC’s acceptance were composite. The Court also noted the contrary positions taken by two Union Ministries regarding delineation/denotification of the land from the SEZ and impressed upon the Union of India the need to evolve a mechanism to resolve such conflicting departmental stands at the governmental level. The High Court judgment was quashed and set aside, and SCA Nos. 184 and 5816 of 2017 were remitted to the learned Single Judge for fresh consideration, preferably within six months. The interim order dated 26th April 2019 was directed to continue until further orders.
