By Arun Pratap Singh
Garhwal Post Bureau
Nainital, 19 Sep: The Nainital High Court today heard the case related to the dispute over the cancellation of a tender awarded for operating food and beverage outlets at Jolly Grant Airport in Dehradun. The division bench of Chief Justice G Narendar and Justice Ashish Nathani extended the stay on the order of the Airports Authority of India, which had cancelled it citing some reasons. The Court also stated that the matter would next be taken up for final hearing next week.
The dispute arose after M/s Manish Taxi Service filed a petition in the High Court challenging the decision of the Airports Authority to terminate its contract. According to the petitioner, nearly twelve food and beverage outlets are currently located at Jolly Grant Airport, for which a tender had been floated in 2023. The company maintains that it had secured the contract on the basis of the stipulated conditions for a period of five years. However, in June this year, the Airports Authority had cancelled the contract, citing violations of the terms and conditions.
The Authority argued that the company had failed to make the required monthly payments as per its contractual obligations. In response, the petitioner contended that the Authority had unilaterally inflated the monthly dues in contravention of the original tender norms, creating an unlawful and excessive financial burden on the operator. The petitioners further argued that this change in the payment structure was not only arbitrary but also inconsistent with the terms laid out in the original tender.
It was on this basis that the Airport Authority cancelled the contract in June, a decision which was subsequently challenged before the High Court by the petitioner. In an earlier hearing, the Court had initially stayed the order and has now decided to continue the stay until the next hearing, when the matter will be taken up for final adjudication.
Jolly Grant Airport, officially known as Dehradun Airport, currently operates as a domestic airport with direct flight services to major cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, Kolkata and Ahmedabad. Airlines such as Indigo, Air India, Alliance Air, Air India Express, SpiceJet and Fly Big run services from this airport.
The outcome of the ongoing tender dispute is being keenly followed as it carries implications not only for the interests of private operators but also for the functioning and standards of service at the airport.
