Delhi HC denies Adani plea on Kolkata airport tender

The Delhi High Court has rejected a request from Adani Global Air Cargo Solutions to cancel a tender for a new cargo terminal at Kolkata airport. Adani argued that technical problems on the Government E-Marketplace prevented them from properly submitting their bid. The court stated on March 18 that the bidding process was fair and did not violate the Indian Constitution. The judges, Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice Girish Kathpalia, noted that the Adani challenge did not meet legal standards required to prove unfairness. The judges recognized that Adani made sincere efforts to submit the bid but stated that the delay in their bid impacted both Adani and the Airports Authority of India's subsidiary, AAI Cargo Logistics and Allied Services Co. Ltd. However, they allowed AAI to consider Adani's bid if it serves their commercial interests. The tender process opened on August 21, 2024, for the development of the cargo terminal. Bids were to be submitted electronically with a deadline of November 7. Adani claimed that while they managed to upload their documents, an error occurred when finalizing their submission. They tried multiple times to fix the issue but could not complete the process in time. After the deadline, Adani emailed AAI notifying them of the issue and requesting an extension. They sent further details later but AAI found the evidence insufficient. This led Adani to pursue legal action in the high court.