GENERAL MANAGER, CONSTRUCTION Vs. VASISTHA CONSTRUCTION PVT. LTD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This intra-court appeal is preferred by the appellant, General Manager, Construction, N.F. Railway, Maligaon, Guwahati, and another seeking to assail the legality and validity of the order dtd. 20/11/2020, passed by the learned Single Judge accepting the writ petition, being WP(C) 7454/2015, filed by the respondent herein and setting aside the action of the appellants in forfeiting the Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) made by the respondent in pursuance to its bid submitted seeking construction works under the Tender Notice bearing No. CON/2014/MAY/03 dtd. 12/5/2014 issued by the appellant.

(2.) The respondent submitted its bid as a joint venture entity with M/s Vasistha Construction Pvt. Ltd. being the lead partner. Along with the bid, three Call Deposits towards EMD were also furnished. On evaluation of the bids, the respondent was declared to be the lowest bidder. Before the contract could be finalised and work order could be issued, information came to be provided to the appellant employer that the lead partner of the joint venture entity had been blacklisted by the Madhya Pradesh Public Works Department till 19/6/2018, which fact was concealed by the joint venture entity while filing its bid. The lead member of the joint venture entity was issued a letter dtd. 26/12/2014 calling upon it to clarify its stand regarding the aforesaid blacklisting order and the declaration made by it as per the tender clauses.

(3.) The respondent filed an affidavit-in-reply taking a stand that the Madhya Pradesh Government had uploaded the order dtd. 20/5/2013 in their website, whereby Vasistha Construction Pvt. Ltd., i.e. the lead partner of the joint venture entity had been blacklisted. The said firm was the lead constituent of the petitioner's joint venture, but it was not aware of the order of blacklisting. Knowledge about the blacklisting order dawned upon the firm, M/s Vasistha Construction Pvt. Ltd., sometime in August, 2015 whereupon a writ petition, being WP(C) 5920/2015 was filed before the Hon'ble Madhya Pradesh High Court. The Madhya Pradesh High Court, vide order dtd. 20/6/2016, quashed the order of blacklisting. It was also projected in the affidavit-in-opposition that the joint venture partner was not aware of such blacklisting.