Quash LoI given to Indus Towers for smart poles:Reliance to HC

Reliance Jio Infocomm today asked Delhi High Court to quash the letter of intent issued to Indus Towers by NDMC for providing free WiFi, through the 18,500 street poles in the area under the corporation's jurisdiction.
A bench of justices Badar Durrez Ahmed and Sanjeev Sachdeva, however, refused to pass any interim orders and listed the matter for hearing on May 27.
Senior advocate Sandeep Sethi told the court there was urgency in the matter as letter of intent (LoI) had already been issued by New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) and work could commence soon.
"There is extreme urgency as LoI has been issued and they will execute the work," he said while seeking a date of hearing before the vacation.

The court was initially going to list the matter for hearing after the vacation.
Reliance, in its plea, had sought a stay on award of contract of the Rs 220 crore project which also includes replacement of streetlights with LED bulbs and putting up CCTV cameras.

However, since LoI has been issued, it has amended its plea to challenge the LoI as well.
The project is expected to be fully commissioned in three years, but the tender is for a 10-year period, according to Reliance' plea.
Reliance has challenged the tender on the ground that Indus was held as successful as it had submitted a bid for 20 years, while the contract period was for 10 years.

"After 10 years, it is the discretion of NDMC to extend it for another 10 years or not," Sethi had earlier told the court.
NDMC and Indus opposed Reliance' plea for quashing of the LoI.
Advocate Malvika Trivedi, appearing for NDMC, had earlier told the court that LoI in favour of Indus was signed on March 18 as it was successful in the tender process.