Ahmedabad: The Gujarat high court, on Wednesday, rejected a petition filed by Maritime Energy Heli Air Service Pvt Ltd challenging its blacklisting and the forfeiture of its performance guarantee. The company was responsible for the seaplane service between the Sabarmati Riverfront and the Statue of Unity but failed to demonstrate the procurement of an aircraft.

The company had approached the high court last month, claiming that it had won the bid for the seaplane service but received a show-cause notice on August 24, 2022, citing termination due to the failure to execute an agreement for the service. In June, the company was blacklisted, and its Rs 25 lakh security for the performance guarantee and Rs 10 lakh earnest money deposit (EMD) were forfeited because it couldn’t provide ownership/lease documents for the aircraft intended for the seaplane service. The tender required proof of aircraft procurement for the agreement to be finalized.

While dismissing the petition, the bench led by Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal noted in its order that the show-cause notice had been issued to inform the company about proposed actions due to non-compliance with the agreement conditions, which included providing documents confirming aircraft ownership/lease. The company claimed to have responded to the show-cause notice.

The court order also stated that the company had been blacklisted and its bank guarantee and EMD amount forfeited on June 5, but this action had not been challenged in the original petition. The blacklisting occurred after a hearing opportunity had been given. The high court stated that it would not limit its jurisdiction to an error in the decision-making process during the tendering process, and no such error in the decision was demonstrated. However, the high court did grant the company the freedom to file a suit before a civil court regarding this matter. DeshGujarat