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Informist, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025

 

NEW DELHI – The Delhi High Court has upheld Delhi Metro Rail Corp. Ltd.'s letter of acceptance choosing Indus Towers Ltd. for installing and provisioning in-building solutions at various metro stations situated along the Delhi Airport Metro Express Line on the Delhi Metro network. The high court rejected a plea by Crest Digital Pvt. Ltd. questioning the manner in which the work was awarded to Indus Towers without resorting to a competitive bidding process.

 

The high court said that there can be no cavil with the proposition that ensuring uninterrupted and seamless mobile connectivity, especially in the underground tunnel section of the Delhi Airport Metro Express line, is a necessary imperative. Such connectivity plays an essential role in enabling emergency communication, passenger safety and operational coordination at all times, the high court said. It is also imperative to upgrade infrastructure to support 5G services, the court added.

 

The court cannot lose sight of the fact that, despite the passage of more than three years since the launch of 5G services, Crest Digital has neither installed nor rolled out 5G services, Justice Sachin Datta said. The upgradation of telecom infrastructure is of paramount importance and is an integral and inseparable part of infrastructure work relating to the Delhi Airport Metro Express line, Justice Datta said.

 

Even assuming that the letter of acceptance to Indus Tower amounts to a breach of contractual rights, it is open for Crest Digital to claim damages, the court said. The court noted that the license fee to be charged by Delhi Metro from Indus Towers for space allocated shall not be less than the rate paid by Crest Digital.  

 

Delhi Metro and Crest Digital had entered into a license agreement in 2019 for the placement and operation of telecommunication equipment for an in-building solution for providing shared mobile coverage in the tunnel section and five underground metro stations in the Delhi Airport Metro Express line. According to Crest Digital, the contract originally entered into between Delhi Metro and Indus Towers was limited to the provision of installation of towers and masts in the outdoor areas of the Delhi Airport Metro Express. However, the scope of the agreement was extended in February to include the in-building solution, said the petitioner. 

 

Crest Digital argued that the letter of acceptance to Indus Towers contemplates payment of license fees, which are much lower than the license fees paid by them under the existing agreement. The issuance of the letter of acceptance to Indus Towers, in effect, renders defunct Crest Digital's license agreement with Delhi Metro and causes irreparable harm to its established business model, the company said in its petition. 

 

On Wednesday, shares of Indus Towers ended 0.7% higher at INR 349.50 on the National Stock Exchange.  End

 

Reported by Surya Tripathi

Edited by Saji George Titus

 

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