SC reserves its verdict on Reliance petition

New Delhi, Aug 10: The Supreme Court today reserved its judgment on the appeal filed by the Reliance Airport Developers against the Delhi high court judgment dated April 21 ,2006 dismissing its writ petition challenging the government decision to award worth Rs. 7000 crores contract for moderanisation of Delhi amd Mumbai airports to its rivals.

A bench comprising Justices Arijit Pasayat and S H Kapadia reserved the verdict after hearing marathon arguments spread over a week.

Earlier senior counsel Mukul Rohtagi appearing for Reliance Airport Developers Pvt. Ltd, Anil Ambani group, contended before the apex court that since huge national assets were in the queue for being privatised and private players have to play a significant role in view of the policy of globalisation and liberalisation being followed by the present UPA government that this court must lay down some guidelines to ensure free and transparent award of work to private players without any discrimination and favouritism.

Rohtagi also contended that the process of awarding the contract which is initially for 30 years and can be extended upto 60 years was not transparent and his client were arbitrarily denied the contract despite being highest financial bidder for Delhi Airport and second best in terms of technology for Mumbai airport. The benchmark were also deliberately lowered from 80 per cent to 50 per cent by the government to leave out the appellant and to favour the GMR and PVK.

Rohtagi also contended that the high court had failed to appreciate the factual situation in the correct perspective and had committed a grave error of law in dismissing the petition of the petitioner and balance of equity was also in his favour. Senior counsel Harish Salve appearing for the Airport Authority of India(AAI) strongly denied the charge of despotism and favouritism leveled by the appellant and contended that the process of privatisation of the two airports having maximum international traffic in the country was started way back in 2000 and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was so exasperated with the delay in finalising the process of bidding that he made a public statement that the credibility of the country in the world was at stake and he would scrap the whole process if it was not finalised forthwith.

Salve also argued that capital worth 2 billion US (About Rs 7000 crores) was lying blocked which cannot be permitted to continue for long.

Salve also pleaded that it was for AAI to decide the best possible option as it was a revenue sharing contract spread over a period of 60 years and none can guide his client in deciding what was best for AAI.

He also alleged that the appellant had been muddying the waters by writing letters to the authorities to influence the process of awarding the contract for privatisation of the two airports.

Regarding the lowering of bench marks by the government on the recommendation of the Group of Eminent Technology Experts (GETE) headed by Metro chief E Sreedharan, Salve pleaded that the groups was constituted to have the company having best technology for the development of the airports as per international standards.

Additional Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium appearing for the Centre had earlier pleaded that strategic objectives of the modernisation process had been kept in mind while awarding the contracts and the present appeal was liable to be dismissed as it had no merit.

The court during the hearing refused to go into the issue of laying down guidelines as it was a petition in which the appellant was a party in the case.

Senior counsel K K Venugopal and former Attorney General K Parasaran appeared for the two repondent companies namely GMR and PVK.

UNI