The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court, on Thursday, dismissed an appeal by a private company against the rejection of its tender bids for advertising rights at the Madurai airport by the Airports Authority of India (AAI).
It also observed that a case of rejection of technical bid was not a case fit under Article 226 of the Constitution.
A division bench of Justices M. Venugopal and Abdul Quddhose observed that judicial review of commercial contracts was permissible only in cases of arbitrariness, irrationality, malafides, bias and perversity.
Otherwise, the court lacked the expertise on complex technical subjects. It pointed out that there was no case of favouritism or bias in the rejection of the bids in the present case.
Regional Executive Director, South, and Airport Director Madurai Airport, had also appealed against the order by a single bench which had quashed the rejection of the technical bids for want of annexures.
The court permitted the call for fresh bids and observed that it was valid in accordance with law.
A single bench had earlier directed that the bids of the private party be considered or fresh bids invited.
The bids of TDI International and its associate company Bhadra International were rejected on technical grounds by the Regional Executive Director, South, and Airport Director, Madurai.
The bidding companies had not submitted the annexure forms disclosing the details of disputed and undisputed amounts and pending proceedings before arbitral tribunals or courts.
Both the companies had initiated separate arbitration claims against the Airports Authority of India, which also made a counter claim in arbitration against both the companies. Both the cases are pending before arbitral tribunals.
Despite the claims made against the AAI, the companies participated in the tender for advertising rights at the Madurai airport.
