R-ADAG moves SC on airport privatisation

Anil Ambani-owned Reliance Airport Developers today moved the Supreme Court challenging the Delhi High Court verdict upholding the government's decision to allot Delhi and Mumbai airports' modernisation work to rival bidders - GMR and GVK.

Sources said that a special leave petition has been filed against the April 21 verdict of the High Court holding that the government's action was in no way "discriminatory, illogical or illegal".

The High Court, at the request of the Reliance counsel, had said that the two consortia would not claim any equity or implement the contract during the next two weeks so as to enable the petitioner file an appeal in the apex court.

While upholding the technical parameters adopted in awarding the contracts, the High Court had said government and the AAI had "absolute discretion to vary the tender requirements or amend the term of rfp (request for proposal)" as per the requirements of the project.

Reliance Airport Developers had challenged the award of the contracts to the GMR-Fraport Consortium and GVK Industries for the Delhi and Mumbai airports on the ground that the government and AAI had deliberately amended the tender norms to favour the rival bidders.

It had argued that as the originally highest financial bidder for the Delhi airport and the highest technical bidder for the Mumbai airport, the company should have been awarded at least one of the projects.