Supreme Court grants leave to challenge tender award quashing

The case concerns a dispute over the acceptance of a tender for the recovery of user charges for Mandi infrastructure, specifically challenging whether the High Court correctly quashed the award to the highest bidder (Micky Traders) due to alleged non-compliance with experience eligibility criteria.

Who it concerns: Appellants: Micky Traders (H1 Bidder) and Punjab State Agricultural Marketing Board/Market Committee, Ludhiana; Respondent: L.R.Y. Labour Contractor (H2 Bidder); Bench: Justice Alok Aradhe.

What the court decided

• The Court analyzed the limited scope of judicial review in tender matters, citing precedents like Tata Cellular and Agmatel India.
• The Court noted that while the tendering authority is the best judge of its tender document, courts can interfere if the decision is 'dehors the terms of the NIT' or 'patently arbitrary'.
• The Court stated that an essential condition not complied with cannot be condoned by the tendering authority, as such condonation amounts to perversity.

Also in the document

• The judgment is marked as 'NON-REPORTABLE'.
• The High Court had previously quashed the Letter of Acceptance issued to Micky Traders and directed the Board to issue it to the eligible tenderer.
• The Supreme Court's analysis emphasizes that judicial review is limited to checking for illegality, irrationality, or procedural impropriety, rather than substituting the court's interpretation for the tendering authority's.