The Hindu : National : Ruling reserved on Reliance appeal

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Friday, Aug 11, 2006

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National

Ruling reserved on Reliance appeal

Legal Correspondent

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved verdict on an appeal filed by Reliance Airports Developers challenging a Delhi High Court judgment upholding the award of contracts for modernisation of the Delhi and Mumbai airports to GMR Infrastructure and GVK Industries.

A Bench consisting of Justices Arijit Pasayat and S.H. Kapadia is examining the issue of airports modernisation and the procedure adopted in lowering standards as well as giving choice in the opening of financial bids. Reliance contends that there was no fair and transparent procedure in the award of contracts to two companies. It asked whether it was permissible for the Government to unilaterally alter tender conditions after evaluation had been done, especially when the changes would operate to the prejudice of one bidder— the petitioner. The Government illegally and arbitrarily reduced the benchmark of technical expertise from 80 to 50 per cent to favour its rivals.

Reliance argued that the two firms, which were awarded the contracts, knew everything about the bids made by the others and they were deliberately given time to make a bid higher than that of the petitioner. As the highest financial bidder for the Delhi airport and as the highest technical bidder for the Mumbai airport, it (Reliance) should have been awarded at least one of the projects.

The Centre and the Airports Authority of India argued that there was no violation of the contract procedure, and everything was done transparently and within the parameters of the contract.

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