LINDE INDIA LTD. Vs. PGIMER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner is stated to be engaged in the business of manufacturing, procuring and supplying industrial and medical gases as also related products and services to a wide range of customers across the country. It claims to be a subsidiary of Linde Plc. which is, as averred in the writ petition, the world's largest gas company which designs, engineers, installs and commissions industrial gas plants. It is stated to be in operation for the last 140 years and is further stated to have over 6500 active patents. The petitioner claims to be the preferred supplier of medical gases to all major hospitals including the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh (respondents No.1 to 4) (for short 'PGIMER') and claims to be supplying oxygen to PGIMER since 2013.

(2.) The basic grievance of the petitioner is the award of contract for the supply of liquid medical oxygen (for short 'LMO') to respondent No.5 in contravention of the provisions of the Notice Inviting Tender (NIT) and by illegally relaxing the eligibility conditions.

(3.) It, therefore, prays for the issuance of a certiorari quashing the action of PGIMER in declaring respondent No.5 as eligible/qualified by granting relaxation of both experience and financial eligibility criterias without there being any such provision in the NIT dtd. 17/11/2022 (Annexure P-5). It also prays for the issuance of a certiorari quashing the order dtd. 21/4/2023 (Annexure P-13) vide which respondent No.5 was declared as the lowest bidder for supplying of LMO @ Rs.12.24 per cubic meter as against the petitioner's quoted rate of Rs.18.47 per cubic meter despite the fact that respondent No.5 did not fulfil the experience and financial eligibility criterias. It also prays for quashing of the order dtd. 2/6/2023 (Annexure P-18) vide which the objections/representations submitted by the petitioner were rejected. It further prays for the quashing of order dtd. 8/6/2023 (Annexure P-19) which was passed subsequent to the directions issued by a Co-ordinate Bench but was identical to the order dtd. 2/6/2023. It lastly prays for the issuance of a mandamus directing PGIMER to allot the work of supply of LMO to the petitioner. FACTS