The Hindu Business Line : Airport bids: SC rejects Reliance appeal

The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed the appeal filed by Reliance Airports Developers, challenging a Delhi High Court judgment that upheld the award of contracts to GMR Infrastructure Ltd and GVK Industries Ltd for modernisation of Delhi and Mumbai airports.

A Bench comprising Mr Justice Arijit Pasayat and Mr Justice S.H. Kapadia held that the procedure adopted in lowering of standards, as well as giving choice in the opening of financial bid in award of contract, was not vitiated by mala fides or any illegality.

Reliance had contended that there was no fair and transparent procedure in the award of contracts to the two companies. It had contended that the Government illegally and arbitrarily, reduced the benchmark of technical expertise from 80 per cent to 50 per cent to favour the rivals of Reliance Airports Developers.

Rejecting all the contentions, the Bench in separate but concurring judgments said, "the court will be slow to interfere in matters relating to administrative functions unless the decision is tainted by any vulnerability like illegality, irrationality and procedural impropriety."

In his judgment, Mr Justice Pasayat said if the request for proposal (RFP) were to be considered at the final phase of evaluation, there would be only one bid for each of the airports. In that event, there would be no question of finding out the difference between the various bids or comparing the bids. That left no option with the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGOM) but to either vary the RFP or to award one of the airports to GMR and to cancel the process for the second or cancel the entire process.

The latter course would not have been in larger public interest. Therefore, the EGOM exercised its option in favour of GMR.

Mr Justice Kapadia in his judgment, however, said that the expert committee had no business to expand or narrow down the scope of any of the parameters as it was beyond its authority and contrary to the scoring system.