Taj Mahal hotel auction: Tata group firm IHCL withdraws plea against NMDC from SC

In a blow to Tata group’s Indian Hotels company’s -1.66 % (IHCL), the Supreme Court on Friday said it cannot interfere in the dispute between IHCL and civic body New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) concerning the Taj Mahal Hotel auction tender at this stage, which led IHCL to withdraw its petition against NDMC.

The development clears the decks for auction proceedings for the Taj Mahal Hotel in Delhi, popularly known as Taj Mansingh.

IHCL had moved the Supreme Court this week after the Delhi High Court rejected its plea against the revised tender on the Taj Mansingh auction. IHCL’s counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi said in the apex court that the tender conditions for the hotel do not flesh out the previous Supreme Court judgment on the matter and that they are mentioned in the schedule.

In its April ruling last year, the top court had said that NDMC should take into account the unblemished record of the Taj while deciding the party to whom the operating license will be given. Singhvi said some extra weight should be given to IHCL and its capability should be assessed as it was a special tender condition that the court had suggested.

But, Justices L Nageswara Rao and Mohan M Shantanagoudar, who heard the matter, said all the bidders have been informed, it is a competitive bidding process and that the schedule mentions the judgment. The apex court said it does not want to interfere in the matter at this stage of the bidding.

“The auction will go ahead as planned. The last date for submission of technical bids is June 7. With this, decks are cleared for e-auction of this property,” said an official from NDMC. NDMC has set June 19 as a date of the e-auction. An IHCL spokesperson said the company remains confident of its credentials and convinced “its continued partnership with NDMC will ensure the success of this iconic hotel.”

The development comes after the dismissal of IHCL’s plea by the Delhi High Court. While dismissing IHCL’s plea on May 22, the High Court had ruled that the complex nature of eligibility conditions that NDMC has insisted upon while considering tenders for the hotel plot are based on thought and deliberation and that the realm of re-appreciation through judicial review was extremely narrow.

“As held by the Supreme Court time and again, the wisdom of a particular policy cannot be considered but its legality or procedural fairness is only subject to review,” Justice S Ravindra Bhat and Justice AK Chawla had said in their judgment.

Source:-https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/services/hotels-/-restaurants/auctioning-of-taj-mahal-hotel-tata-group-firm-withdraws-plea-from-sc/articleshow/64418436.cms

Comments

0