SUBRAMANIAN SWAMY Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This Public Interest Litigation has been filed seeking the following reliefs:-

(2.) Arguments were heard on behalf of the respective parties on 04/01/2022. During the course of arguments, learned Solicitor General of India, appearing on behalf of Respondents No.1 to 4 sought liberty to place on record a short Note on the arguments canvassed by him. Liberty was granted to do the needful. Similarly, Petitioner and Respondent No.6 were also permitted to file their respective short Notes. All the parties filed their respective Notes of arguments, which have been taken on record and perused.

(3.) The factual matrix is in a narrow compass. Process of disinvestment of Air India and its subsidiaries commenced in June, 2017, with the in-principle approval of Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA). The first round did not elicit any Expression of Interest. A policy decision to disinvest was taken after following the transparent procedure through multi-layered decision making, involving Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG), Core Group of Secretaries on Disinvestment (CGD) and the empowered Air India Specific Alternative Mechanism (AISAM) at the apex Ministerial level, with support for the entire process from reputed Transaction Adviser, Legal Adviser and Asset Valuer.