Point of Law : It is the settled position in law that a Force Majeure clause is to be interpreted narrowly and not broadly. Parties ought to be compelled to adhere to contractual terms and conditions and excusing non-performance would be only in exceptional situations.

JUDGMENT :

JASMEET SINGH, J.

1. The present writ petition has been filed by the Petitioner seeking the following substantial reliefs:

“(a) Issue a writ of certiorari or any other writ or order or direction in the nature of Writ of certiorari setting aside/quashing the letter dated 04.05.2021 bearing no. AAI/OPS/GHS/11/GP/2020 sent by the Respondent No. 1 (AAI) to the Petitioner No. 1 cancelling the Letter of Intent to Award dated 12.01.2021 and forfeiting the Bid Security, as arbitrary, unreasonable, mala fide and in violation of Article 14 of the Constitution of India;

(b) Issue a Writ of Mandamus or any other Writ or order or direction in the nature of Writ of Mandamus setting aside the forfeiture of the Petitioner’s Bid Security, restoring the Petitioner’s Bid Security and restoring the Letter of Intent to Award dated 12.01.2021 issued in favour of the Petitioner No. 1 for the Goa airport;

(c) Issue a Writ of Mandamus or any other Writ or order or direction in the nature of Writ of Mandamus directing the Respondent No. 1 to accept the bank guarantees obtained by the Petitioners in favour of AAI, viz. (i) Bank Guarantee No.1394FB210095 dated 26.02.2021 issued by Axis Bank for Rs. 1,77,54,708/-, and (ii) Bank Guarantee No. 01742IGL0001421 dated 29.04.2021 issued by Union Bank of India for Rs. 3,29,73,029/-, in compliance of Para 6(i) of the LOIA;”

2. Briefly stating the facts giving rise to filing of the present writ petition are as under:

3. That the Petitioner No. 1 is a company registered under the Companies Act, 2013 in Mumbai. It is engaged in handling ground services offered to airlines at Airports. The Petitioner No. 2 is also a company registered under the Companies Act, 2013 in Goa and is a Joint Venture (JV) company/SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle) of Petitioner No.1 and its consortium partner Goldair Handling S.A. (based in Greece) to perform contractual obligations under tenders awarded to the consortium as a Concessionaire.

4. The Respondent No.1 is the Airports Authority of India (“AAI”). It is the authority empowered to manage airports across India and to give licenses/concessions to service providers for providing ground handling services in airports across India.

5. The Respondent No.2 is the Executive Director (Operations) of Respondent No.1 and Respondent No.3 is the Airport Director at Goa airport, the person responsible for correspondence and further execution of work on behalf of the Respondent No. 1.

6. In June, 2018, the Respondent No.1 floated a tender for selecting a concessionaire to provide ground handling facilities at Goa airport and various other airports. However, the said tender was cancelled without assigning any reason and a new tender was again floated in August, 2018 for various airports, classified under different groups.

7. Subsequently, this tender was cancelled, and a new tender was floated in November, 2018. The consortium of Petitioner No.1 and Goldair Handling S.A. was selected as the successful bidder for Goa airport and some other airports. However, the said tender was also cancelled 12.06.2019.

8. On 27.01.2020, the Respondent No.1 issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the purpose of selecting a concessionaire to provide Ground Handling Facilities and Ground Handling Services at the Goa Airport, managed by the AAI for a period of 10 years. The RFP was revised in response to the bidder queries by Corrigendum No.1 dated 06.03.2020 for Goa and Pune Tender ID: 2020_AAI_41228_1.

9. As per Clause 3.4.4, the selected bidders i.e. the two highest bidders, were each required to incorporate a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) under the (Indian) Companies Act, 2013 as Concessionaires.

10. As per Clause 3.5.9, after selection of the two highest bidders, the AAI would issue a Letter of Intent to Award (LOIA) to the selected bidder for an airport. The process after acknowledgment of LOIA by the selected bi