T.S.THAKUR, J. - (1.) Judicial review of administrative action has its own limitations. The court examining the validity of any such action is not so much concerned with the correctness of the decision under challenge as it is with decision making process. It does not sit as a court of appeal to pronounce upon the correctness of the decision or appraise the material to arrive at its own conclusion and then substitute the same for that of the authority. The court is concerned with finding out whether the decision making process is vitiated by mala fides, unreasonableness or arbitrariness. Even while doing so, the court is expected to exercise its powers under Article 226 with great care and caution and intervene only when such intervention would promote public interest. There is considerable authority for these propositions to which we shall refer in the course of this judgment, but before we do so, it is necessary to set out in brief the facts giving rise to these proceedings.
(2.) The genesis of the controversy raised in this petition lies in a decision taken by the Government in September, 2003 for modernizing and upgrading the Indira Gandhi International Airport at Delhi and the Chatrapati Shivaji International Airport at Mumbai through what is described as "Joint Venture Route" by formation of separate companies between Airports Authority of India and a joint venture partner. The first step taken in that direction came in the form of the Government constituting an Empowered Group of Ministers (hereinafter referred to as EGoM) which was some time later reconstituted to comprise Minister of Defence, Minister of Finance, Minister of Law and Justice, Minister of Commerce and Industry and Minister of State Civil Aviation.
(3.) The terms of reference for the EGoM included selection and appointment of a financial consultant, approval of Request for Expression of Interest (hereinafter referred to as RFEOI), selection and appointment of Global Technical adviser, approval of Request for Proposal document (hereinafter referred to as RFP document) comprising draft Concession Agreement, draft Shareholders Agreement and other project related agreements and short-listing of prospective bidders based on technical and financial criteria stipulated in the RFP. Approval of detailed modalities including design parameters, bid evaluation criteria, fee payment structure etc. was also left to the EGoM. The EGoM was to be assisted by an Inter Ministerial Group (hereinafter referred to as IMG) under the chairmanship of the Financial adviser to the Ministry of Civil Aviation.;