A bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Sangita Dhingra Sehgal rejected two petitions of India Institute of Architects (IIA), saying the "scope of interference by this court in matters relating to tenders is very limited".
"The contention of the petitioner (IIA) that the National Building Construction Corporation (NBCC) should not have invited the bids from the engineering consultants is wholly misconceived and without any substance. The writ petition appears to be based on irrelevant and erroneous assumptions of facts and law," the bench said.
IIA, registered in 1917 as a voluntary organisation of architects to encourage the study of architecture, said the approval was in violation of the provisions of the Architects Act as the approval can be granted only after a particular foreign architect or agency makes an application for a project while in the instant case, the government granted an open- ended approval to ITPO to hire foreign architects.
The bench, however, was not convinced with IIA's stand and observed, "we found that in the letter dated February 26, 2014 (by which MHA granted in-principle approval to ITPO), it was made clear that the specific approval in terms of section 37(1)(b) of the Act would be accorded to the foreign architects as and when they are shortlisted by the ITPO and an application is made to the Central Government for prior permission".
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