V KRISHNAMURTHY Vs. AIRPORTS AUTHORITY OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner has come forward with this writ petition praying for a Writ of Certiorarified Mandamus to call for the records relating to the notice inviting tender for licensing indoor and outdoor advertisement sites at International and Domestic Airports, issued by the first respondent published in Hindu dated 30-01-2004 and quash the same and direct the respondents 1 and 2 to invite separate tenders for each airport including Chennai, Madurai, Trichy, Coimbatore and Jaipur Airports.

(2.) By consent of counsel for both sides, the writ petition itself is taken up for final disposal.

(3.) The petitioner is in the business of advertisement for the past 2 5 years and his annual turnover is Rs.2 crores and he is an existing licencee for exhibiting advertisement signs in Jaipur, Madras and Mangalore Airports. The first respondent herein called for tenders separately for each airports for licensing of indoor and outdoor advertisements hitherto. The third respondent herein is a licencee for Trivandrum, Bangalore and Hydrabad. The first respondent has issued a notification in newspapers on 27-11-2003 inviting tenders for indoor and outdoor advertisements. In the said notification, they have divided all the airports into four groups. In the said notification, it is provided that minimum of three years experience in advertisement and display business at Transportation centres and having a minimum annual turn over of Rs.25 crores from such advertisement business. The said notification was cancelled by an intimation dated 26-12-2003 published in 'The Hindu' daily. Another notification dated 30-01-200 4 was issued by the first respondent, which was also published in newspaper. In the said notification, it is prescribed that persons having minimum of three years experience in advertisement and display business at Airports, Seaports, Railways as a whole, bus terminals, bus shelters and public places and having a minimum four months prescribed Minimum Reserved Licence Fee, hereinafter referred to as "MRLF" are eligible. The explanation to the words 'experience' and 'turn over' also made in the said notification. Experience means experience from the above advertisement business during the last ten years from the date of publication of the notice inviting publication. Turnover means turnover from advertisement business during the last completed financial year, where the business is running currently and turnover from advertisement business for any of the year where the experience has been claimed during the previous years. The turnover prescribed for Delhi Group is Rs.1,274.88 lakhs; Mumbai Group Rs.2,900.28 lakhs; Kolkatta Group 960.48 lakhs and Chennai group is Rs.582.72 lakhs. Unless a person has annual turnover of the above amount, not eligible to participate in the tender.