MD,S ORGANIC Vs. STATE OF ASSAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The extra ordinary jurisdiction of this Court conferred by Article 226 of the Constitution of India is being sought to be invoked in the present writ petition whereby the petitioner has put to challenge a Notice Inviting Tender (NIT) dated 15.11.2019 read with a Corrigendum dated 27.12.2019 issued by the Department of Agriculture, Government of Assam. The NIT in question pertains to supply of Vermicompost for the years 2019-20 and 2020-21. Alleging gross illegality in the said NIT and Corrigendum, the case projected is that conditions have been imposed in the NIT to reduce competition and to suit certain vested interested parties. It is the broad contention of the petitioner that the conditions imposed are wholly irrelevant and extraneous whereas relevant factors have been overlooked. This Court vide an order dated 14.02.2020 while issuing notice, had passed an interim direction restraining issuance of work order without taking leave of the Court.

(2.) For a better appreciation of the issue in hand, bereft of details, it would be convenient to narrate the facts of the case in brief.

(3.) The petitioner which is a proprietorship firm is a manufacturer of Vermicompost and has got itself registered under the GST. The petitioner also claims to have been granted a No- Objection Certificate (NOC) dated 02.06.2014 from the Jorhat Block and Anchalik Panchayat. On 15.11.2019, an NIT was issued by the Agriculture Department for supply of certain quantities of Vermicompost. As per the schedule, the last date and time for submission of bids was 06.12.2019 till 5 pm and the date of opening of the technical bids was fixed on 09.12.2019. The tender process was, however, extended till 06.01.2020 vide a notification dated 27.12.2019. The total requirement of Vermicompost was 80,000 quintals. Eligible bidders have been defined against Sl. No.2 of the NIT in question. In Clause-19 (b) of the NIT, the documents of eligibility were notified, which include audited balance sheet of the manufacturer/bidder for the last two financial years with average turnover of Rs.8 crores. As regards experience, the bidder must have the experience of supply of 20,000 quintals in the last two years in the Assam Government supply. Subsequently, vide the Corrigendum dated 27.12.2019, the last date was extended till 06.01.2020 (5 pm) and the requirement was increased to 1,20,000 quintals. Changes were also made on the requirement of the annual turnover, as per which the same has to be Rs.5 crores in the last three financial years. The experience clause was also changed to having experience of supply of 12,000 quintals of Vermicompost in the last five financial years in Assam Government supply.