OVEYAM RANJAN Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Airports Authority of India (AAI), invited Global Tenders for grant of licence for providing comprehensive ground handling services to various airlines, operating at Chennai and Kolkata Airports, on 20.7.2009. In response to this tender, Joint venture of M/s.Bhadra International India Ltd. and Novia International viz. the ninth respondent and other bidders participated. During the tender process, the 9th respondent quoted the royalty payable to AAI at the rate of 32.5% of annual gross turn over and being the highest bidder, the licence was awarded to the 9th respondent. Against this award of licence in favour of the 9th respondent, W.P.No.28303 of 2010 has been filed as a public interest litigation on 9.12.2010. The matter was admitted on 9.3.2011 and on the same day, an interim order was passed to the effect that 'any further action that may be taken by the second respondent/Airport Authority of India shall be subject to the result of the writ petition.' It is after this that the other writ petition in W.P.No.11910 of 2011 has been filed by the petitioners. Since both the matters are inter connected with each other, they are clubbed and heard together, leading to disposal of them by this common order.

(2.) It is commonly alleged in both the writ petitions that eligibility conditions of the tender were tailor-made to suit the 9th respondent and to substantiate this allegation, motives have been attributed to the 11th respondent/Mr.Narayanan, the then Executive Director of AAI. It has also been alleged that the lead member, Novia International, neither had five years experience in ground handling nor a turn over of Rs.200 crore and that Bhadra International was selected at a time when one of its sister companies had outstanding dues of Rs.36 crores with AAI for an advertisement contract and TDI International, which owed the money to AAI and Bhadra International were both floated by the 10th respondent/Mr.Prem Bajaj.

(3.) Respondents 2,13 and 14 have stoutly denied the allegations of the petitioners. They have specifically averred and argued that M/s.TDI International India Limited was not a participant in the global tenders invited for Ground Handling invited by the AAI and in terms of the eligibility criteria laid down in the Notice inviting tenders, the lead member alone will be evaluated pursuant to the eligibility criteria and in the instant case, M/s.TDI International India Limited is a separate legal entity carrying out advertisement business and M/s.Bhadra International India Limited is a Joint Venture Consortium partner along with M/s.Novia International Consulting APS of Denmark and none of the consortium partners are having any dues payable to the Airports Authority of India. It is also their specific stand that as on 9.9.2009, the date of award of the tender, M/s.TDI International India Limited had a total clear dues of approximately Rs.36.85 crores and as against this, AAI was holding irrevocable Bank Guarantees in its absolute favour for Rs.46.24 crores to secure the said dues. Thus, at the point of time of award of contract, the Bank Guarantees obtained from TDI International India Limited and other concessionaires are in excess of the total dues of the respective concessionaires, to ensure that there is adequate security for the dues payable to AAI and AAI has taken appropriate steps periodically to recover the dues and that M/s.TDI International India Limited had paid part payments periodically. They have also specifically denied the allegation of the petitioners that after accumulating dues, the promoter of M/s.TDI International India Limited had floated another company, namely, M/s.Bhadra International India Limited to bag the contract since from the Certificate of Incorporation, it is seen that M/s.Bhadra International is an existing company, incorporated way back in the year 2000, while the tenders were called only in 2009.