Kohinoor Educational Services Private Limited Vs Union of India & Ors (Delhi High Court)
The Delhi High Court, in the Letters Patent Appeal filed by Kohinoor Educational Services Private Limited (KESPL), dismissed the challenge to the order of the Single Judge dated 28.11.2024, which had dismissed the underlying writ petition W.P.(C) 15188/2024. The writ petition sought a mandamus directing the Executive Director (Finance) of Airports Authority of India (AAI) to issue an accountant certificate in Form 26A under the Income Tax Act, 1961, for payments allegedly made by the petitioner, including royalty, rent, and other amounts under the License Agreement dated 3 April 2009. The license allowed KESPL to use Salem Airport for five years, from 3 April 2009 to 2 April 2015.
The Single Judge had dismissed the petition primarily on two grounds: delay and laches, and practical unenforceability of the relief sought due to unavailability of relevant records. The petitioner approached the Court nearly a decade after the termination of the License Agreement. Respondents informed the Court that records for periods prior to 1 April 2013 had been destroyed during the 2015 floods and could not be retrieved, making verification of payments in the Form 26A certificate impossible. Only two payments received post-SAP-ERP migration in 2014 were verified and accounted as revenue in AAI books; no TDS had been deducted on these payments. Attempts to recover outstanding dues had resulted in an eviction order and auction of abandoned assets, with recovery proceeds adjusted against dues, leaving Rs. 6,36,41,758/- outstanding as of October 2023.
