The Bombay High Court has vacated its previous order restraining Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) from finalising bids to replace the Indian subsidiary of Turkish firm Çelebi Aviation Holding for ground and bridge handling services at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport.
The single-judge Bench of Justice Somasekhar Sundaresan passed the order on Wednesday, taking in consideration a recent verdict of the Delhi High Court, which rejected the Turkish firm’s writ petition challenging the Indian government’s revocation of its security clearance.
Closing the application filed by Çelebi under Section 9 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, Justice Sundaresan said the continuation of ad interim protection would not be in aid of arbitral proceedings.
The single-judge Bench recorded in its order that a conciliation process was currently underway to settle the matter.
The High Court granted liberty to Çelebi to approach it again for relief, in case the conciliation attempts failed and any other interlocutory application was found necessary to invoke Section 9.
The decision cleared the way for MIAL to select a new service provider for ground and bridge operations at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport.
On May 15 this year, the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), under the Ministry of Civil Aviation, withdrew Çelebi’s clearance, on the grounds of national security.
The decision followed the diplomatic tensions between India and Turkey, after the latter chose to support Pakistan during the recent hostilities involving Operation Sindoor.
Following the revocation of security clearance, MIAL terminated its operational agreements with the Turkish firm at the Mumbai Airport.
The state airport authority further directed Çelebi to hand over all equipment, property, personnel and staff to Indo Thai Airport Management Services Private Limited, which was nominated as a pro tem replacement operator.
MIAL issued a tender for a new long-term concessionaire on May 17, which would effectively conclude Çelebi’s role at the airport.
The Turkish firm moved the High Court claiming that the termination was not in accordance with the agreements, which provided for a 30-day cure period before any termination could take effect.
MIAL submitted that on May 15, 2025, the same day as revocation of its security clearance, Çelebi issued a notice to all its business partners across India, stating that it was ceasing its ground handling operations immediately in light of the loss of security clearance and disowning liability.
During the court vacations, the Bombay High Court noted that the Delhi High Court was hearing a similar case, in connection with Çelebi’s operations at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi.
A similar challenge regarding the Mumbai operations was also pending before a Division Bench of the Bombay High Court.
The single-judge Bench had observed that it would be inappropriate to allow any permanent steps, such as appointing a new operator, until the root issue was resolved.
It had granted interim relief to Çelebi till the matter was heard by a regular Bench after court vacations. The same was vacated on Wednesday.