Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Jan 4: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday reserved the order for January 6, on BJP MP Subramanian Swamy’s plea seeking quashing of Air India disinvestment process.
Bench of Justice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh after taking notes of all sides reserved the order. The court also asked the parties to give a written submissions in this regard.
The Rajya Sabha MP appeared himself and argued that the bid process for Air India disinvestment was arbitrary, corrupt, mala fide, unconstitutional and against public interest. He also said it was rigged in the favour of Tata Sons.
He further said, “There is a clear statement that the insolvency process is ongoing in Madras High Court which passed orders against SpiceJet and therefore it was not entitled to bid. This means there was only one bidder & the bid cannot take place”.
He also said that he is not against the disinvestment process.
“I am in favour of disinvestment. I have always believed in the idea of an open market,” he added.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Central government, argued Air India was in continuous losses and the government couldn’t afford more losses. Tata Sons advocate told the bench that “successful bidder here is a 100% Indian company, owned 100% by an Indian”.
With relation to the current Air India disinvestment process, the Rajya Sabha MP has sought to set aside and revoke any action or decision taken by the authorities, as well as any additional approvals, clearances, or permits granted by the authorities. Swamy has also requested a CBI probe into the role and functioning of authorities, as well as the production of a full report to the court, through his lawyer Satya Sabarwal.
The central government accepted the highest proposal from a Tata Sons business for 100% equity shares of Air India and Air India Express, as well as a 50% stake in ground-handling company AISATS, in October last year, marking the first privatization in 20 years.
The government signed a share purchase deal with Tata Sons for the sale of national carrier Air India for Rs 18,000 crore on October 25 last year. Tata’s would pay Rs 2,700 crore in cash and assume the airline’s debt of Rs 13,500 crore.
