HC allows Hansa to take back possession of 250 mini-buses from BEST
The high court receiver will take possession of the 250 buses and hand them over to Hansa City Bus Services (Mumbai)
MUMBAI: The Bombay high court has allowed Hansa City Bus Services (Mumbai) Pvt Ltd – a wet lease bus operator for the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) Undertaking – to take back possession of 250 airconditioned mini-buses which were “retained” by BEST after the operator terminated the contract on October 9.
The high court receiver will take possession of the 250 buses and hand them over to Hansa City Bus Services (Mumbai), a special purpose vehicle created in October 2019 after Hansa Travels Ltd won the bid to operate BEST’s wet-lease bus fleet for a period of eight years, the court said.
“Having perused the terms of operation of stage carriage services for public transport of 250 mini AC Buses in the city of Mumbai and its extended suburbs, I am prima facie satisfied that the buses in question are owned/belong to the petitioner (Hansa),” said the single judge bench of justice Arif Doctor while allowing the operator’s plea for possession of the buses.
The court was hearing two separate petitions filed by the Hansa group – one seeking the appointment of an arbitrator to decide its claims against BEST and the other seeking interim relief from BEST. Advocate Urvaksh Anklesaria has been appointed as arbitrator in the case with the consent of the civic undertaking.
The dispute between BEST and the Hansa group came to the fore on October 11-12, when the group withdrew its fleet of 280 buses – roughly 9% of BEST’s fleet of 3,211 buses – from roads owing to pending dues worth ₹90 crore and hike in maintenance expenses and cost of manpower and fuel.
The petitions stated that as per the agreement between BEST and Hansa Travels, executed in October 2019, the operator was to submit monthly invoices on the first day of the following month and BEST was supposed to pay 70% of the amount immediately and the remaining 30% within the seventh day of the month.
Between January and June 2020, the petitions noted, the Hansa group submitted invoices worth ₹26.05 crore, while BEST paid only ₹11.93 crore. Disputes also arose with BEST regarding over-crowding in buses, which led to increased consumption of fuel, poor mileage and frequent breakdowns, causing losses worth ₹70-80 crore to the company, it said. Besides, BEST also started deducting substantial amounts towards charges for washing the buses and charging batteries.
The petitions further mentioned that in February 2024, the Hansa group sought meetings with the BEST top-brass to resolve the issues, which did not elicit the desired response. Therefore, on October 9, the group terminated its contract with BEST after serving a notice, following which it approached the high court for relief.
In court, advocates Dhurva Gandhi and Khushbu Chhajed, who represented the Hansa group, said that the 250 mini-buses owned by the company were parked at BEST parking lots at Oshwiwara and Dindoshi. The company tried taking possession of the buses on October 19, ten days after termination of the contract, but the chief security officer of BEST prevented them from doing so, the counsel told the court, adding that the civic undertaking had no right under the agreement to retain the buses. Advocate Prateek Palsuledesai, appearing for BEST, did not dispute the fact that the 250 buses were owned by the Hansa group.
The court, after hearing both sides, allowed the Hansa group to take back possession of the buses. It also directed the BEST administration to follow the due process of law in case it wanted to blacklist the operator – BEST must issue a show cause notice to the operator and grant an opportunity of hearing, it said.