Kerala HC stalls land acquisition for new airport

The Kerala High Court has halted the land acquisition process for the proposed greenfield airport near the revered Sabarimala temple, which primarily serves a significant influx of pilgrims.

- Ashraf Padanna | AM Abdussalam

Ayana Charitable Trust, formerly Gospel for Asia, a Christian church group which owns the land, approached the court to question the state's move to acquire their 2,570 acres of land.

The petitioners alleged fraud, misusing power by the state, which the court said “cannot, at this stage, negate the contention and that all the same, it is not ripe for it to conclude that the acquisition proceedings are vitiated by fraud on power.

“This is for the reason that the allegation of fraud on power or colourable exercise of power is inextricably interwoven with the requirement of estimating the absolute bare minimum extent of land,” Justice A Jayachandran wrote.