GOVINDARAJ Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Both these writ petitions are founded on almost identical facts and the questions of law involved therein are also common, therefore, both are heard together and disposed of by this common order. For convenience, pleadings of rival parties as incorporated in S.B.Civil Writ Petition No. 9188/2015 shall be referred herein.

(2.) Succinctly stated the facts of the case are that petitioner a Joint Venture Company (for short 'JV') having M/s. GVPR Engineers Limited with its Registered Office at Hyderabad as first party and M/s. DARA Construction, an incorporated company having its Registered Office at Jodhpur as second party entered into a Memorandum of Understanding for Joint Venture with effect from 03.07.2015 (Annex.1). The requisite terms and conditions for joint venture agreement are incorporated in the Memorandum of Understanding. In order to show the relative status of both the parties of JV, it is averred in the writ petition that both are registered as 'AA' Class Contractors with the respondent-Department with first party being registered as 'AA' Class Contractors vide order dated 02.07.2015 and the second party with effect from 03.11.2006 respectively. The renewal of registration of the second party as 'AA' Class Contractor vide order dated 23.04.2015 is also placed on record. Stressing the status and enlistment as 'AA' Class Contractor with the respondent-department of both the partners, a positive assertion is made in the writ petition that JV is fully eligible to participate in the bidding process issued by the respondent department. The third respondent vide its communication dated 21.04.2015 addressed to the Director, Directorate of Information and Public Relation (DIPR), Jaipur requested to arrange for publication/advertisement of NIT-1 & 2/15-16 in one leading regional daily newspaper, two State level leading daily newspaper, two all India level daily newspaper including financial publication and any trade general specialisation of publication of NITs and further requested to upload the soft copy of NIT on the official website www.dipronline.og.

(3.) Pursuant to the aforesaid order, the respondent-department proceeded to get the above referred NIT published in the newspaper as well as by way of updating it on the website of the department by resorting to Notice Inviting Tender (NIT Procedure) inviting contractors enlisted as 'AA' Class Contractor to participate in the said tender proceedings. The entire procedure pursuant to the NIT was made on-line on the said website and in response to the same, besides the petitioner JV, M/s. Rs.&T Limited, Chennai, M/s. Megha Engineering & Infrastructure Limited, Hyderabad, M/s. NBCC Ltd. and M/s. VPRPL-WABAG-JV submitted the duly filled up form on-line. Thus, in all, five entities participated in the said bidding process. In order to show its participation in the bidding process pursuant to the aforesaid NIT, the petitioner-JV has placed on record its tender document as Annex.5.