SPS INTERNATIONAL LTD Vs. DIRECTORATE OF EDUCATION

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner herein is aggrieved by the orders dated 17.1.2012 of the respondent No.2 whereby the work awarded to the petitioner earlier for printing, supply and scanning of OMR sheets for CCEP-II Examination, 2011-2012 has been cancelled. The effect of the cancellation is that though petitioner was given the aforesaid order, in view of the cancellation thereof, the petitioner is not to execute that contract. In addition to the challenge laid to the withdrawal orders dated 17.1.2012, the petitioner has also questioned the validity of eligibility criteria No. 2(vi) prescribed by respondent No.1 in Notice Inviting Tender (NIT) dated 15.12.2011 in respect of which NIT, the petitioner was awarded the work. The brief factual matrix leading to the filing of this petition by the petitioner runs as under:

(2.) As per the aforesaid condition, any printer who has been blacklisted/penalised by any Government Department or any other agency was not eligible for bidding. For this purpose, the bidders were required to submit an affidavit that they had never been blacklisted/penalised.

(3.) The petitioner submitted its bid in the requisite form along with documents. It also gave an affidavit that it was never blacklisted/penalised by any Government department/public sector undertaking, etc. The precise language in which the aforesaid declaration in the affidavit was made is as under: