ASRAYA CATERERS Vs. STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners in both these cases are aggrieved by the award of contract for supply of diet etc., by letter date 11/11/2021, by the Convenor of the 2nd respondent District Diet Management Committee, Guntur, to the 7th respondent in W.P.No.26767 of 2021 and the 8th respondent in W.P.No.27354 of 2021 by the official respondents for supply of diet to in-patients and duty Doctors in Government General Hospital, Guntur, (hereinafter referred to as the Hospital) whose superintendent has been arrayed as the 4th Respondent in W.P.No. 27354 of 2021. They pray for setting aside the same.

(2.) As both these writ petitions are essentially seeking to challenge the same order, these writ petitions are being disposed of by this common order.

(3.) The case of the petitioner in W.P.No.26767 of 2021 is that he is a diet contractor, who was interested in participating in the tender floated by the 2nd respondent vide Rc.No.1581/HDS/2020-21, dtd. 15/9/2021 for supply of diet in the Hospital. However, he had not participated in the said tender as he was unable to file the VAT / GST clearance certificate, which is a mandatory requirement under the terms and conditions of the tender document. The petitioner contends that he is aggrieved by the fact that the 7th respondent in the W. P. No. 26767 of 2021, who was similarly situated and had not furnished the latest VAT / GST clearance certificate, had been awarded the contract by waiver of the said conditions. The petitioner contends that the said waiver should have been communicated to all the concerned and persons like him should have been given an opportunity to participate in the tender. He relies upon the judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Ramana Dayaram Shetty vs. International Airport Authority of India and Ors.,1.