For Bullet Train Project, An Important Ruling From Supreme Court
NDTV
Bullet Train Project: Supreme Court set aside the Delhi High Court's verdict in favour of a firm called Montecarlo Limited whose technical bid was rejected by an expert committee.
In a verdict pertaining to the Japan-funded Bullet train project, the Supreme Court on Monday said no company and even the Republic of India can be permitted to deviate from any terms and conditions of the agreements including the loan deed about the Mumbai-Ahmedabad rail project.
The top court set aside the Delhi High Court's verdict in favour of a firm called Montecarlo Limited whose technical bid was rejected by an expert committee appointed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for several works about the Bullet train project.
A bench comprising Justices M R Shah and A S Bopanna was dealing with the question whether in the facts and circumstances of the case and concerning such a foreign-funded project, the High Court was justified in "interfering with the tender process in absence of any specific allegations of mala fides and/or favouritism".
"It is to be noted that under the contractual obligation, it was not open for the appellant corporation and/or even the Republic of India to deviate from any of the terms and conditions of the loan agreement and/or the decision of JICC/JICA. Therefore, in absence of any allegation of mala fides/arbitrariness and/or favouritism, we are of the opinion that the High Court has committed a grave error in interfering with a conscious decision taken by the JICC/JICA, which has been followed by the appellant," the 82-page judgement said.
