[Breaking]: Delhi HC gives green signal to Taj Mansingh Hotel auction [Read Judgment]

The Delhi High Court’s Pradeep Nandrajog and Pratibha Rani, JJ today gave New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) the nod to auction off the Taj Mansingh Hotel..The Division Bench dismissed the appeal by Indian Hotels Company Ltd. (IHCL) challenging a single judge order that dismissed their suit seeking to restrain NDMC from auctioning the five-star hotel..The single judge order, passed by V. Kameswar Rao, J. on September 5 of this year stated,.“In view of the discussion and the request of the plaintiff for renewal of licence for further period has not been acceded to and noting that the plaintiff has no right seeking renewal or grant of licence for further period and the decision of the defendant to go for auction, the plaintiff is not entitled to extension of licence as claimed in the suit”.IHCL was awarded a 33-year old lease which expired in 2011, after which several rounds of litigation took place. IHCL had argued that not only had they obtained the lease from NDMC, but they had also actively participated, partnered and invested along with the NDMC in the hotel..Senior Advocate Harish Salve had argued for the appellants that a major chunk of the investments made in the hotel were made by IHCL and this conferred upon them certain rights not just as a lessee, but as a joint venture partner..It is interesting to note that Salve worked out of the hotel for a couple of years, and to date, still has a room there..The bench, in a one-line statement made in court today, said that the appeal has been dismissed. The impact of this one line however is two-fold. First, IHCL’s contentions of being a partner and not a mere lessee have been brushed off by the bench and secondly, the order paves the way for NDMC to go ahead with the auction of the iconic property in one of New Delhi’s most prime locations..In light of recent events, the judgment might come as a set-back to the already shaky Tata Group that owns and controls IHCL..Read the final judgment below..(Last edited at 20:47 on October 27, 2016)