The Nagpur Bench of Bombay High Court here on Wednesday quashed a March 2020 communication issued by a joint venture firm cancelling an award granted to GMR Airports for upgradation and operation of the Nagpur's Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport, calling it "arbitrary and unfair".
A Division Bench of Justices Sunil Shukre and Anil Kilor of the HC's Nagpur Bench said the communication, issued to GMR Airports Ltd by MIHAN India Ltd, a joint venture between Maharashtra Airport Development Company and the Airports Authority of India, deserved to be quashed and set aside.
"We find that the impugned communication is arbitrary, unfair and unreasonable and, therefore, it deserves to be quashed and set aside," the court said.
The communication was not "sustainable in the eye of law", the Bench noted.
The court has also ordered MIHAN to execute a concession agreement with the GMR group in six weeks.
The HC order came on a petition filed by GMR Airports challenging the action of MIHAN in annulling the bidding process for upgradation, modernisation, operation and management of the Nagpur international airport despite the process having come to an end and the petitioner (GMR) already having been awarded the project by way of a Letter of Award on March 7, 2019.
As per the plea, MIHAN was planning to issue fresh tenders for the project.
MIHAN had, however, claimed the communication sent to the petitioner on March 7, 2019, was only a bid acceptance letter and not a letter of award.
The company said the communication clearly stated that the acceptance of the bid was conditional and required approval from the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation.
