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HIGH COURT OF DELHI
NARANGS INTERNATIONAL HOTELS PRIVATE LIMITED – Appellant
Versus
DELHI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT LIMITED – Respondent
O.M.P.(I) (COMM.)-294/2021
O.M.P.(I) (COMM.) 294/2021
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
Date of Decision: 27th August, 2021
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O.M.P.(I) (COMM.) 294/2021 & I.A. 10860/2021
NARANGS INTERNATIONAL HOTELS PRIVATE LIMITED
..... Petitioner
Through:
Mr. Kapil Sibal & Mr. Akhil Sibal,
Senior Advocates with Mr. Kshitiz
Garg, Mr. Anshum Jain, and Mr.
Rahul Kochal, Advocates.
versus
DELHI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT LIMITED ..... Respondent
Through:
Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Senior
Advocate with Mr Anuj Berry, Mr.
Chaitanya Safaya, Mr. Amit Bhandari
and Ms. Prerna Acharya, Advocates.
CORAM:
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SANJEEV NARULA
JUDGMENT
[VIA VIDEO CONFERENCING]
SANJEEV NARULA, J. (Oral):
1.
The present petition under Section 9 of the Arbitration and
Conciliation Act, 1996 [hereinafter referred to as‘the Act’] has been filed
by the Lessee – Narangs International Hotels Pvt. Ltd. [hereinafter referred
to as“NIHPL”], seeking urgent interim relief against the Lessor – Delhi
International Airport Limited [hereinafter referred to as ‘DIAL’], being
aggrieved by DIAL’s email dated 02nd July 2021 asking NIHPL to initiate
steps for vacation of DIAL’s premises in view of the expiry of lease on 31st
August 2021.
2021:DHC:2652
O.M.P.(I) (COMM.) 294/2021
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2.
NIHPL seeks the following urgent reliefs:
[C] Pass ad-interim ex parte orders in terms of the above prayers.”
3.
The facts leading to the filing of the present petition, as narrated
therein, are briefly captured below:
3.1.International Airports Authority of India granted lease of airport land
to NIHPL for the “purpose of carrying on flight catering business at
the Delhi Airport, Palam” for a period of 30 years (ending on 31st
August 2011), by way of a Lease Deed dated 20th August, 1982
[hereinafter referred to as‘Original Lease Deed’]. Clause 19 of the
General Conditions of Contract appended thereto contained an
arbitration clause.
3.2.The Delhi Airport / Palam Airportwas renamed in 1986 as the Indira
Gandhi International Airport [hereinafter referred to as ‘IGI Airport’
or the ‘Airport’]. The International Airports Authority of India was
renamed in 1995 as Airports Authority of India [hereinafter referred
to as ‘AAI’].
3.3.DIAL became AAI’s successor-in-interest for the Original Lease
Deed by way of an Operations, Maintenance and Development
2021:DHC:2652
O.M.P.(I) (COMM.) 294/2021
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Agreement dated 04th April 2006, executed between AAI and DIAL,
in respect of IGI Airport. [hereinafter referred to as‘OMDA’]
3.4.The Original Lease Deed also provided “an option of extension upto
10 years” in its recital. Later, as recorded in the minutes of meeting
dated 27th November 2009 held between NIHPL, DIAL and AAI, the
lease was extended for a further period of 10 years (i.e. till 31st August
2021). A separate agreement was also entered into between NIHPL,
DIAL and AAI regarding the same in 2009 [hereinafter referred to as
the ‘Agreement dated 2009’]. Thus, NIHPL continues to operate at
the IGI Airport on the same terms and conditions as contained in the
Original Lease Deed, except for certain modifications as recorded in
the minutes of meeting referred above.
3.5.NIHPL contends that shortly thereafter, DIAL started pressurizing it
to enter into a license agreement instead of the lease, and threatened to
disallow access of airport to NIHPL for providing in-flight catering
services.
3.6.Faced with DIAL’s refusal to grant NIHPL’s personnel and vehicles
access to the Airport, NIHPL was constrained in 2013 to file a petition
under Section 9 of the Act for necessary reliefs, which included access
to the Airport. During the course of the proceedings, NIHPL and
DIAL executed a Supplementary Lease Agreement dated 17th May
2013 [hereinafter referred to as‘SLA’], on the basis whereof, the
Section 9 petition was withdrawn.1 The said agreement also contained
an arbitration clau
