HANS ENTERPRISES Vs. AIRPORTS AUTHORITY OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By means of an advertisement dated 15.11.98 the Airport Authority of India ( AAI) invited tenders/offers for "revenue contract for removal and disposal of garbage from various designated points at Indira Gandhi International Airport. The petitioner/objector submitted his bids/tenders quoting two rates (i) Rs. 3,13,000/- per month if garbage is handed over to him as per the existing system and (ii) Rs.5,35,000/- per month if entire wet garbage is handed over to him by M/s Taj, Oberoi and Ambassador Flight Kitchens at their premises." Vide a letter dated 15.3.99 the respondent accepted the offer of the petitioner and awarded the contract. A Licence Agreement dated 8.7.99, came to be executed between the parties. Disputes/differences arose between the parties with respect to the delivery of the wet garbage as the flight kitchen operators did not permit the petitioner to lift the wet garbage from their units despite various representations of the petitioner. The respondent tried to resolve the dispute by writing to the flight kitchen operators and also holding meetings with them but without much success. The petitioner approached this Court for invoking Arbitration Agreement contained in Clause 26 of the general terms and conditions forming part of the agreement for adjudication of the disputes. Vide order dated 14.10. 99 this Court referred the following disputes to the sole Arbitrator:

(2.) Pursuant to the above order of this Court, the Chairman Airports Authority of India vide its order dated 22.10.99 appointed Shri A. K. Dubey, General Manager (Finance) as a sole Arbitrator to decide the aforesaid disputes and to make the award. The Arbitrator entered upon the reference and after giving due opportunities to the parties to present their respective cases and on a consideration of the documents and material more particularly the Licence Agreement gave a 'NIL' award thereby rejecting the claims of the petitioner based on the following findings:

(3.) The designated points as indicated vide Clause 1 (Annexure B) of the agreement do not find mention about the flight catering units and therefore the dispute raised by the Claimant vide para 2 (a) above that the respondents failed to ensure supply of wet garbage from the flight kitchen units of Taj Air caterers, Oberoi flight services etc. is not tenable. Clause 16 of the operating terms and conditions of the agreement which is the basic point of reference does not make it obligatory on the parts of the respondents to ensure the availability of the garbage from the flight kitchen. The plea of the claimants that their offer dated 22.1.99 was conditional was not corroborated with the conditions and clauses of the signed contract which is the only relevant documents to be relied upon.