Delhi high court rejects L&T plea to stay NTPC’s equipment order

The Delhi high court on Tuesday refused Larsen & Toubro’s plea to stay the bidding process for NTPC’s Rs25,000 crore power equipment tender.

A division bench of justice B D Ahmed and justice V K Jain, dismissing the interim application by L&T, said, “We are not inclined to stay the bidding process,” after a hearing that lasted more than two hours.

L&T counsel Mukul Rohtagi said NTPC has no right to impose any statutory conditions while filing the deed of joint venture. “NTPC never took any clarification from us regarding the deviation in the bidding format,” he said.

Additional solicitor general Parag Tripathi, appearing on behalf of NTPC, countered that NTPC did not require any clarification from the bidder as its work is only to examine the deed of joint venture once it was filed.

“But our main concern was that the format prescribed by us was not followed by L&T, which is not acceptable,” Tripathi countered.
The court said it will not be in public interest if any interim order is passed.

L&T had dragged NTPC to the court after it disqualified L&T Power’s bid citing technical irregularities.

NTPC had invited bids for sourcing 11 boiler and steam turbine generator sets of 660 mw last October. These included nine units for its own coal-fired power plants and two for the state-owned Damodar Valley Corporation.

L&T Power was disqualified on the grounds that the technology collaboration agreement for power equipment was between its parent and Mitsubishi Industries Ltd and not directly with L&T Power.

NTPC said it had to scrap the tender and call for fresh bids after L&T Power’s disqualification because Bhel was the sole bidder left in the project.

NTPC then issued fresh tenders in June this year.

L&T has just forayed into power equipment manufacturing. The contract is crucial since L&T is keen to establish itself in the segment.