KOCHI: The Kerala high court has quashed KSEB’s tender for procuring around 8 lakh electric poles of lower safety norms as it is against public interest and unsustainable in law.
A division bench comprising chief justice S Manikumar and justice Shaji P Chaly considered a public interest litigation (WP-C No. 3850/2021) filed by Muhammed Nizar K of Pattambi in Palakkad and two others through advocate OA Nuriya.
Challenging the tender on October 22nd last year for procuring eight-metre long poles that have a wind load of only 140 kilogrammes, the petitioners had contended that the specification goes against the orders passed by KSEB itself for poles with 200 kilogrammes or more in view of the frequent breakages.
The court termed the decision to use poles of 140 kilogrammes a suspicious stop-gap arrangement and one taken without any bonafides and without assigning any reason. Such a decision is against public interest on account of economic and safety reasons, the court said.
While holding the KSEB’s decision as unsustainable, the court said public interest should be given utmost preference and that the board’s decision to ignore its earlier decision to use poles of 200 kilogrammes has to be viewed with greater suspicion when larger public interest is considered.
