Dhir & Dhir Associates represented Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) before the Hon’ble High Court of Delhi, against a competence assessment company (“Petitioner”) which develops and delivers standardized and customized tests across the country.

The Petitioner has inter-alia challenged the termination of the contract and the initiation of enquiry by ONGC. The Petitioner has claimed that the letter of termination does not specify any cause of dissatisfaction and does not afford any opportunity to rectify the same. The Petitioner alleged that during the enquiry it would be on an automatic “holiday” as neither, any tender enquiry would be issued nor its offer would be considered for any ongoing tender.

The Firm argued that the Writ Petition was not maintainable as the disputes by the Petitioner arise out of alleged breach of contract. The Delhi High Court held that the claims of the Petitioner are unmerited and the controversy over the termination of the contract is squarely covered within the Arbitration Clause. The Court held that decision of any authority not to enter into a contract with a party cannot be faulted with if the decision is founded on cogent reasons and does not fall foul of Article 14 of the Constitution of India. The team was led by KPS Kohli, Partner and assisted by Sharmistha Ghosh, Associate.