SC upholds GMR’S right to operate Nagpur Airport
MIHAN had moved SC after Bombay HC’S refusal to annul the bidding process
GMR Group will be able to operate Nagpur Airport, with the Supreme Court (SC) upholding the decision refusing to annul the bidding process for it.
Multimodal International cargo Hub and Airport at Nagpur (or MIHAN) — a joint venture between Maharashtra Airport Development Company and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) — had moved SC after the Bombay High Court (HC) set aside its decision to cancel the bidding process.
“In view of the discussion made hereinabove, we are of the considered opinion that the findings recorded by the HC allowing the writ petition are in accordance with law. Those findings do not suffer from any illegality, warranting interference by this court in exercise of the power under Article 136 of the Constitution. All these appeals are hereby dismissed,” the SC said in its order on Monday.
GMR Group operates Delhi and Hyderabad airports and is also constructing greenfield airports in Goa and Bhogapuram in Andhra Pradesh.
In October 2018, the group emerged the highest bidder for the operation and management of Nagpur Airport for a period of 30 years, offering 5.7 per cent of its gross revenue to MIHAN.
Subsequently, it agreed to share over 14 per cent of gross revenue in after-bid negotiations and hold 74 per cent stake in the project. Following this, MIHAN issued a letter of award to GMR in March 2019. However, in March 2020, the Maharashtra government decided to cancel the tender process and issued a letter annulling the process.
GMR Group moved Bombay HC last year after MIHAN cancelled the award. In response to the petition, MIHAN argued it never issued an award letter and that the March 2020 order only referred to the acceptance of bids. Further, it said that the issue of award would be subject to central government approval still pending.
“The SC vide its judgment on Monday dismissed the special leave petitions filed by MIHAN, AAI, Government of Maharashtra, and the Government of India and upheld the judgment of the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay HC that had previously quashed and set aside the decision of MIHAN, annulling the bidding process for Nagpur Airport. Accordingly, MIHAN would be required to execute the concession agreement for Nagpur Airport in favour of GMR,” said advocate Milanka Chaudhury of law firm Link Legal, who represented GMR in the case.
As part of its modernisation plan of Nagpur’s Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport, GMR said it would increase the ultimate capacity of the airport to around 30 million passengers annually, representing a capacity increase of over 1,000 per cent in a phased manner. Currently, the airport handles a total of around 3 million passengers.