In a recent court decision, the Delhi High Court ruled in favor of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) over a disagreement with Crest Digitel Private Limited about a contract. The case was about a Letter of Acceptance (LoA) for developing 5G infrastructure.
Crest Digitel challenged the LoA dated February 13, 2025, which was given by DMRC to another company, skipping the usual process of inviting bids. Crest argued that this decision made their existing contract useless and caused them significant loss.
Back in 2018, DMRC had an agreement with another company to set up telecom towers to improve mobile network coverage. Crest Digitel had a separate agreement from 2019 to provide similar services, ensuring uninterrupted mobile coverage in metro areas.
Crest claimed that the new LoA was unfair because: - It included more work than originally agreed upon. - The fee for the license was lower than what Crest was paying. - The LoA was issued without inviting bids, which was not fair competition.
DMRC argued that Crest had not kept its promises according to their contract, which led to penalties. They highlighted the urgent need for better mobile services, which justified choosing another company directly under Rule 194 of the General Financial Rules (GFR).
The court, led by Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela, rejected Crest's appeal, stating: - DMRC acted within the rules by using Rule 194 of the GFR, which allows direct selection in special situations. - The decision was necessary to deal with frequent complaints about bad mobile coverage affecting metro operations.
In summary, the court upheld DMRC's right to skip the bidding process in special cases, ensuring better services for metro commuters.
