Supreme Court asks Uttarakhand HC to decide plea of aviation firm against taking over of helipad by state
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi asked the Registrar General of the state high court in Nainital to take directions from the chief justice and list two pending pleas of the aviation firm before a bench there within the week from March 9, 2026.
The delegation asked the high court panel, which will consider the defenses, to decide on the petitions within two months.
It was stated that considering the upcoming ‘chardham yatra’ in the state, if the pleas are not decided within the stipulated time, the aviation company may approach the top court to revive the plea here.
Deccan Charters Pvt Ltd, in its plea filed through lawyer Smarhar Singh, termed the repeated takeover of the private helipad by the state government as “illegal, unabated and unconstitutional”.
While the petition accused the state government of bypassing the legal process to hand over the functional helipad to rival Pawan Hans Limited, the high court allegedly failed to decide on the issue despite multiple urgent pleas. Deccan Charters has been operating helicopter service to Shri Hemkund Sahibji Yatra since 2011.
The company has a lease valid until March 2027 for the Govind Ghat helipad in Chamoli District. However, the company alleges that since May 2024, the state government has implemented a “forced takeover” model under the guise of interim acquisition for the Yatra season. The plea stated that the initial purchase of the helipad was undertaken by the state government on May 23, 2024.
Deccan Charters challenged this in the high court in 2024.
The second acquisition of the helipad took place on June 27, 2025.
While the initial objection is still pending, the state has issued a second purchase order for another six months.
The petitioner alleges that the state has “unlocked” the helipad and handed over the facility built and maintained by Deccan to Pawan Hans Limited to run commercial operations.
The firm alleged that the state government had misused its ‘Eminent Domain’ power without following the mandatory procedures laid down in the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.
The claim requested the cancellation of purchase orders dated May 23, 2024 and June 27, 2025.
He also demanded that the state government be directed to return the ownership of the helipad to the company.
It also sought compensation for damages calculated at Rs 5,000 per landing performed by Pawan Hans during the period of “illegal purchase”.
With the 2026 Char Dham Yatra set to begin in May, the aviation firm had sought urgent intervention to prevent what it described as a recurring cycle of administrative bullying.
Taking the claim into consideration, the upper court asked the high court to decide on the defense immediately.
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