N E MERCANTILE Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The disputation calling for adjudication appertain to the area of discretion in awarding a contract by a Statutory authority. Whether the decision maker considered materials outside the defined limit of law or acted in defiance of the accepted norms in eliminating the petitioner from the field of consideration, is the key question raised in this petition.

(2.) The petitioner is a proprietorial firm engaged in civil work and is a registered first class Contractor under the Irrigation and the Flood Control Department of the Govt. of Assam since 1994. Respondent No.2, the Brahmaputra Board, is a Statutory authority set-up under the Brahmaputra Board Act, 1980 - an act enacted for the establishment of a Board for the planning and integrated implementation of measures for the control of floods and bank erosion in the Brahmaputra valley and for matters connected therewith. The Chief Engineer (I & W), Brahmaputra Board, respondent No.3, by a Public Notification, invited sealed offers on behalf of the Chairman, Brahmaputra Board, for pre-qualification of bidders as well as item-rate tenders (financial bid) in separate envelopes from contractors having valid registration of class IA category with Central/State Govt./ Railways etc. for carrying-out the work of cost as cited below:

(3.) The petitioner obtained the tender papers which indicated the considerations those would be taken into account by the Evaluation Committee to pre-qualify for the financial bids by the tenderers. The petitioner accordingly submitted its tender papers alongwith all the connected documents. While the petitioner was expecting that it would cross through the pre- qualification stage and would be called for the financial bads, it was served with the impugned notice bearing No. BB/CE (I & W) HR/DR-117/Pt-2/98-99/2665 dated 12.3.99, informing the petitioner that it could not pre-qualify for the financial bidding and advised it to collect its sealed Financial-Bid Envelope from the office of the Chief Engineer (I & W), Brahmaputra Board. Hence this writ petition questioning the legality and validity of the impugned decision, as conveyed through the aforesaid notice, as arbitrary, discriminatory and unfair.