INDIAN HOTELS COMPANY LTD. Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The writ petitioner has approached this Court aggrieved by the action of the second respondent in forfeiting the bid security which was submitted by it in the course of a process for award of contract initiated by that respondent. The challenge essentially is to the communication of 18/3/2019 & 28/5/2019 pursuant to which the second respondent apprised the petitioner of its decision to forfeit the bid security which had been submitted.

(2.) The second respondent had invited Requests For Proposal [RFP] for selection of developer cum operators of a proposed five-star hotel at the International Exhibition Cum Convention Center [IECC] at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. The proposals were invited on terms which are set forth in the RFP which stands placed as Annexure P-6. The RFP was published on 6/12/2018.

(3.) A process of pre-bid queries was initiated soon thereafter and on 20/12/2018 while addressing queries raised by a prospective bidder, the second respondent, while responding to that query, apprised all bidders that no refund of bid security would be permitted in case the bidder chose to withdraw from further participation after opening of technical bids. It becomes relevant to note that in terms of the provisions of the RFP, the bid security was prescribed to be Rs.20.00 Crores. The relevant clause of the RFP dealing with Bid Security is extracted hereinbelow: -