3 min readNew DelhiMay 23, 2018 01:37 AM IST
First published on: May 23, 2018 at 01:37 AM IST
The court’s order came on a plea by IHCL seeking to quash NDMC’s April 25 tender inviting bids for the hotel. (File)
The Delhi High Court Tuesday gave its nod for the public auction of luxury hotel Taj Mansingh, ruling in favour of the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC). A bench of Justice S Ravindra Bhat and Justice A K Chawla dismissed a plea by the hotel’s current operator, Tata group-owned Indian Hotels Company Ltd (IHCL), challenging the tender procedure for the proposed auction.
“If the judicially settled parameters are kept in mind, it is apparent that the complex nature of eligibility conditions that the NDMC has insisted upon, while considering tenders for the hotel plot, are based on thought and deliberation. The realm of re-appreciation through judicial review is consequently extremely narrow…,” the bench said. It further observed that as upheld by the Supreme Court on several occasions, the wisdom of a particular policy cannot be considered, and that its legality or procedural fairness is only subject to review.
“If these factors are kept in mind, the fact that some conditions could have been better phrased, or that some more conditions could have been introduced is not sufficient to conclude that the conditions that have been prescribed are arbitrary and unreasonable… This court is of the opinion that the writ petition has to fail. It is accordingly dismissed without order on costs,” the bench said.
The court’s order came on a plea by IHCL seeking to quash NDMC’s April 25 tender inviting bids for the hotel. The company had approached the High Court on September 5, 2016, after a single judge had not acceded to the firm’s request for renewal of licence for a further period. This was challenged before the division bench, which upheld the single-judge ruling on October 27 last year. IHCL had then moved the apex court, which in April 2017 had allowed the civic agency to e-auction the hotel.
The company had contended that the NDMC has failed to consider last year’s SC order that they had an unblemished track record. It also questioned the revenue sharing model in the tender document prepared by NDMC, and argued that the civic agency stood to lose money if the auction went through.
Senior advocate Sanjay Jain, appearing for NDMC, had opposed their contention. He said the NDMC did consider IHCL’s track record and did not put any conditions on them, while several conditions were imposed in case of other bidders.
The court’s order came on a plea by IHCL seeking to quash NDMC’s April 25 tender inviting bids for the hotel. (File)
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