The High Court , on 17 September 2026, declared sections 59, 60 and 72(1) of the Public Private Partnerships (PPP) Act, 2021, unconstitutional following a petition filed by Katiba Institute. The Petition, filed in November 2024, was a response to the opacity and accountability deficits experienced in relation to the Adani-related JKIA and KETRACO PPP deals. 

The Court agreed with Katiba Institute’s argument that PPPs involve public expenditure and liabilities whose approval and oversight lies with Parliament. It, therefore, held that excluding parliament from the approval and oversight of PPP projects is unconstitutional.

Article 95(4)(c) of the Constitution provides that the National Assembly “exercises oversight over national revenue and its expenditure.” The provision is framed in mandatory terms, leaving no discretion as to whether Parliament may or may not perform this function. When the Constitution speaks in imperative language, courts must give effect to that command without dilution. Oversight of national revenue is not a ceremonial role; it is constitutionally entrenched and indispensable, it is a substantive constitutional safeguard designed to ensure transparency, accountability, and fidelity to the principles of public finance under Article 201.

Currently, the authority to approve and oversee PPP projects, including approving any variations, is bestowed on the PPP Committee which largely consists of members of the national executive. This is provided for under sections 59, 60 and 72(1) which the court declared unconstitutional.

The Court, however, suspended the declaration of unconstitutionality for 6 months to allow Parliament to pass amendments to the PPP Act to bestow the approval and oversight mandate on Parliament.

The Court also guided that any procurement discretion provided by the PPP Act should be exercised in strict compliance with Article 227 of the Constitution. This was said in reference to procurement of PPPs through privately initiated proposals (PIP) under the Act.

Katiba Institute urges Parliament to take swift action to regularize the Act to ensure it complies with the Constitution as directed by the Court.   

Judgment