HERO ECO TECH LTD Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner, who is the manufacturer and supplier of bicycles, has the grievance over the prescription of two conditions in the tender notification issued by the respondents. The tender is for the supply of bicycles to the students in the Government schools and Government aided schools for the current academic year. The following are the two eligibility criteria to which the petitioner is objecting:

(2.) SMT .Pramila Nesargi, the learned Senior Counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner submits that the aforeextracted clauses are inserted in the tender notification only to suit the convenience of some parties to the exclusion of all the other parties. She complains that the conditions are so devised and prescribed that only three Companies, namely Hero Cycles Limited, Avon Cycles Ltd. and TI Cycles of India can participate in the impugned tender process. She submits that all the said three Companies have quoted exactly the same amount for all the three years including for the present year. She submits that the three Companies have come to supply at the rate of Rs.3,460/ - per girls bicycle and Rs.3,355/ - per boys bicycle respectively. She submits that the Government is over -paying to the three parties, which is not in public interest.

(3.) SHE also submits that the cycles being supplied are of low quality, as is evident form the newspaper report at Annexure -H. She submits that the dealer price for the bicycles in question is around Rs.2,500/ - and the retail price is around Rs.3,100/ -. In support of her submissions, she has produced the price lists and the cash bills. She submits that there should not be any difficulty for the Government in procuring the cycles atleast at the dealer s price. She submits that the Government is paying about Rs.889/ - per cycle in excess of the dealer s price fixed by the three Companies in question. She submits that as the number of cycles being purchased is 5,51,375, the loss being caused to the exchequer is in the region of Rs.48.00 crores.