Earlier in March, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, member of NDMC, announced the open auction of Taj Mansingh Hotel. (Express photo: Ravi Kanojia/File)
The Delhi High Court has reserved its order on a plea by Tata Group-owned Indian Hotels Company Ltd (IHCL), challenging the tender procedure of the proposed auction of Delhi’s Taj Mahal Hotel by the NDMC.
Earlier in March, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, member of NDMC, announced the open auction of Taj Mansingh Hotel. The top court, in November 2016, had directed to maintain the status quo with regard to the Taj Mansingh Hotel and had issued a notice to the NDMC to reply to the plea against the auction of hotel.
The counsel for IHCL on Friday submitted before the Division Bench of Justices S Ravindra Bhat and A K Chawla that the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) failed to abide by the Supreme Court’s order passed last year allowing the NDMC to e-auction the Taj Mansingh Hotel in Delhi’s Lutyens zone.
IHCL also raised questions on the revenue-sharing model in the tender document prepared by NDMC and said that the agency would lose money if the auction went through.
NDMC counsel Sanjay Jain rebutted that considering the track record of IHCL, they did not put any conditions on IHCL unlike in case of other bidders.
Adding to his argument, Jain said the bid conditions stated provisions for a minimum guaranteed sum payable. Therefore, companies having a turnover of at least Rs 200 crore were eligible for the bidding. Jain said that it was the right of NDMC to decide on the tender conditions and it was not discriminating in any manner.
Supporting NDMC’s decision to auction the Taj Mansingh Hotel and termination of Hotel Le Méridien’s licence, the Ministry of Home Affairs had observed that the private “companies cannot exploit good relations with government”.
In 2015, the Centre had set up a three-member fact-finding committee, headed by then joint secretary (MHA) KK Pathak which, suggested a CBI probe against Le Méridien. The suggestion was later approved by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh.