HC relief to low-floor bus firm
In a major relief to the manufacturer of low-floor buses, a division bench comprising Justices A.K. Sikri and Suresh Kait of the Delhi high court on Friday directed the city government not to withhold more than `100 crores payable to Ashok Leyland in lieu of buses as per the contract term.
The court directed the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) to release 80 per cent of the invoice, as per the contract term, immediately to Ashok Leyland, the supplier of low-floor buses.
The high court bench passed the order after the company agreed to replace the spare parts in the faulty 116 buses which have failed the safety tests conducted by the DTC.
The counsel for the bus manufacturer told the court that the company was using the best quality material and assured that it will take corrective steps in the 116 buses which failed the fire test.
Senior lawyer Kailash Vasudev, who was assisting the court in Blueline phaseout matter as amicus curiae, has raised safety concerns in view of scorching summer.
Mr Vasudev had accused the DTC of procuring “sub-standard” buses.
He also referred to an FIR registered by the CBI in 2010 in the case where Ashok Leyland officials allegedly bribed experts of Pune-based Central Institute of Road Transport (CIRT) into forging critical laboratory test reports of plywood samples used in CNG buses to be supplied to Delhi government.
Pointing out that the CBI was investigating the role of three technical experts from CIRT and two Leyland officials, it was contended that samples of the plywood had failed the fire safety tests and were found to be highly inflammable.
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