NEW HORIZONS LIMITED Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Rule D.B.

(2.) There are two petitioners. First petitioner is a public limited company registered under the Companies Act, 1956, and the second petitioner is the Director of the first petitioner. By this petition they seek to have issued a writ,direction or order in the nature of certiorari quashing the award of contract by respondents 1, 2 and 3 to respondent No.4 for printing, binding and supply of telephone directory for Hyderabad. Then the petitioners seek a writ, order or direction in the nature of mandamus requiring the respondents 1, 2 and 3 to accept the tender of the first petitioner for the purpose aforementioned. The first respondent is the Union of India through the Secretary, Ministry <PG>230</PG> of Communication, New Delhi; the second is the Chairman, Telecom Commission, Ministry of Communication, New Delhi; the third is the General Manager, Department of Telecommunications, Telecom District, Hyderabad; and the fourth respondent is M/s. M & N Pulications Limited, New Delhi, who have been awarded the contract.

(3.) A tender notice was published on 22 April 1993 by the General Manager, Hyderabad Telecommunications (Hyderabad Telecom) inviting sealed tenders from competent agencies for printing, binding and supply of telephone directories in English for three annual issues starting from 1993. The notice said that the jobinvolved "compilation of given data into directory format, procurement of paper, printing, binding and delivery of the telephone directories to General Manager, Hyderbad Telecommunications free of cost at the specified distribution points. Besides this, the tenderer had to pay a royalty to General Manager, Hyderabad Telecommunications for each issue by clearly specifying the maximum royally amount for each issue offered by him. The successful tenderer will he permitted to procure on his own classified advertisements and cover page advertisements". Then the notice said that "the directory shall conform to the technical specifications given in the tender document. The tenderer should have experience incompiling, printing and supply of telephone directories to the large telephone systems with the capacity of more than 50,000 lines. The tenderer should substantiate this with documentary proof. He should also furnish credentials in this field". Tender document containing terms and conditions, specifications etc. for the total job could be obtained from the Directory Officer, Hyderabad Telecom on payment of certain charges. Tender was to be received upto 15 hours on 14 May 1993 and to be opened on the same day after half an hour of closing time of receipt of tenders.