All decisions of the Government should not be viewed with suspicion, the Supreme Court has said in a recent decision while upholding Gujarat Government’s decision to develop an International Financial Services City in Ahmedabad.
The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) had objected to the project as the State failed to issue public tender for starting work.
Although CAG is a key figure in the Parliamentary system, the bench of Justices KS Radhakrishnan and
AK Sikri was of the view that Government’s action cannot be declared arbitrary or unreasonable just because of non-floating of tenders or absence of auction. “If every decision taken by the State is tested by a microscopic and a suspicious eye, the administration will come to a standstill and the decision-makers will lose all their initiative and enthusiasm,” it said.
It agreed that sometimes, decisions taken by the State or administrative authorities can go wrong. While criticisms are always welcome in a Parliamentary democracy, the bench said, “A decision taken in good faith, with good intentions, without any extraneous considerations, cannot be belittled, even if that decision was ultimately proved to be wrong.”
In this case, the state government entered into a joint venture agreement with Infrastructure leasing & Financial Services ltd (IlFS) in the name of Gujarat International Financial Tech City limited (GIFT) on March 22, 2011. The company formed accordingly — GIFT Company limited was allotted 412 acres of land.