Court tells AIIMS to pay Rs.10,000 for lapse

New Delhi, April 30 (IANS) The Delhi High Court has imposed costs of Rs.10,000 on the AIIMS for failing to respond on a plea of a private security firm challenging the terms of a tender for providing security guards at the hospital.

The division bench of Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Rajiv Shakdher, while expressing displeasure on the conduct of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) hospital, said: "It is most unfortunate that the respondent has failed to file the counter-affidavit despite grant of sufficient time and this being a tender matter."

"The counter-affidavit be now filed within three weeks, subject to payment of Rs.10,000 as costs. It is open to the AIIMS to recover the cost from the delinquent officer responsible for the delay in filing counter-affidavit as the counsel stated that public money is involved," the bench said.

The case would next be heard July 11.

The court's order came on the petition filed by M/s Prehari Protection System Private Ltd (PPSPL) seeking withdrawal of the tender notice, issued by the AIIMS March 1.

The company has alleged that it had provided security at the AIIMS for the last three year and "its services were terminated arbitrarily by the administration on Dec 26 last year".

The contract was terminated by the hospital with effect from Dec 31 last year.

The petitioner said: "The AIIMS issued a fresh tender for the purpose on March 1 and inserted unwarranted, unreasonable and malafide" terms to debar PPSPL from participating in the bidding process.

The AIIMS granted the contract of providing security guards at its main campus at Ansari Nagar to PPSPL Jan 5, 2009 and later extended it was extended by the hospital till Dec 31 last year.