The Delhi High Court on Thursday rapped Jharkand government for failing to respond to a petition pertaining to Jitpur coal block and ordered the Centre to refund the bank guarantee of Adani Power (Mundra) Limited within a week of finalisation of the new auction.
Adani Power had approached the court last year against the Centre’s decision to encash the Performance Bank Guarantee.
On September 29 last year, the court had restrained the authorities from taking coercive action against the company, which had argued that under leasehold agreement, forest land and unrequited private land was given to it by the Jharkhand government for mining purposes.
Expressing strong displeasure over Jharkhand government’s failure to respond to the petition, the division bench headed by Chief Justice D N Patel observed that a case of fraud should be registered against the officials for allotting such land. “You cannot take things lightly. That is why no industry is coming to you,” the court said, addressing a counsel representing the state government.
On February 24, the court had permitted the Centre to carry out fresh allocation of Jitpur coal mine through the process of auction and also separated the issue of bank guarantee of Adani Power. On Thursday, it asked the Jharkhand government to file its reply to the petition before the next date of hearing.
The tender for the coal block was issued in January 2015 and Adani was declared a successful bidder in March 2015. Adani told the court that in 2017 Jharkhand government told it that 17 hectares of land mentioned as government land was deemed forest land, and also that land acquisition for 137 hectares of private land had lapsed. The court was told that in 2020 Adani Power requested the Centre to cancel the Vesting Order for mining and refund the amounts in view of ground facts.
Instead, the agreement was terminated by the Centre, the court was told.