CHENNAI: A division bench of the Madras High Court has dismissed a PIL from actor Mansoor Ali Khan praying for a directive to the State government not to implement certain projects forcibly against the people and abolish the present tender system of allotting works to private contractors.
The bench of Justices S Manikumar and Subramnoium Prasad said on Thursday that without there being any substantial material inputs, the writ petition is filed on the basis of the reports in newspapers, which cannot form part of the material to substantiate the averments. Except the news items, no other substantive material is placed. Mere averments do not stand the test of proof and a person claiming public interest shall not seek any direction as prayed for in the writ petition, the High Court bench added
The actor sought the court to direct the government to drop certain projects, which were hazardous and rejected by other States. They included the neutrino project in Bodinaickanur in Theni district, methene lifting in Thanjavur district, Sterlite copper industry in Thoothukudi and the atomic energy project in Kanyakumari.