HC to hear tomorrow Tata's plea over Taj Mansingh property

The Delhi High Court would take up tomorrow the injunction suit filed by Tata Group's Indian Hotels Company (IHC) against NDMC's proposed plan for auctioning the property on which the Taj Mansingh hotel is located here.
New Delhi Municipal Council(NDMC) owns the land on which the hotel stands at Mansingh Road while IHC manages the property and pays a revenue-share fee to the council.
Filing the suit, IHC has sought an order seeking to restrain NDMC from auctioning the property. "Pass a decree of permanent injunction restraining the defendant(NDMC) by itself, its servants, agents, subordinates and successors from giving effect to the decision communicated through the letter of November 5, 2012 in respect of hotel Taj Mansingh and or from giving effect to any known or unknown decision to conduct auction for running the hotel at Mansingh Road at New Delhi."

The civil suit also sought the court to restrain the Council from "interfering with the possession, right to operate, run and maintain the hotel premises Taj Mansingh of the plaintiff (IHC) as per the Collaboration Agreement of December 18, 1976 read with the Deed of License and Supplemental Agreement of September 25, 1979."
The case is listed before Justice M L Mehta.
In its plea, the hotel management company claimed that the agreement with NDMC was a joint venture partnership collaboration and in view of the long-term relationship between them, the matter should be reconsidered.

"Instead of extending the agreement on mutually agreeable terms, the Council had decided to opt for public auction for the hotel which the plaintiff (IHC) would have to match in case to operate the hotel..."

"The plaintiff (IHC) has a right to seek an extension of license. Such renewal was to be on a mutually accepted terms and conditions," the plea said.
The 33-year lease of IHC ended in October 2011 and was extended by a year by revising the revenue-share licence fee.
However, in September 2012, NDMC once again granted a one-year extension to the company.