RAKESH BHANDARI Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) HEARD the learned Counsel for the parties at length.

(2.) THIS writ petition has been filed by the petitioner challenging allotment of retail outlet of petroleum products by the respondent No. 2 - Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (BPCL for short) in pursuance of advertisement Annex. 1 dated 10.2.2005 for place Kelwa NH -8 in Dist. Rajsamand at serial No. 79 in the list. The petitioner has prayed that award of said dealership in favour of private respondent No. 3 Mr. Pawar Kumar Paliwal was on account of indiscriminate award of higher marks in the selection process to the said respondent and therefore, the petitioner was deliberately kept marginally lower at second place and while total marks awarded to the private respondent No. 3 Mr. Pawan Kumar Paliwal was 86.9, the marks awarded to the petitioner was 85.1 in the selection interview held on 11.6.2005 for said outlet at Kelwa and therefore, allotment in favour of the private respondent No. 3 deserves to be quashed and set aside.

(3.) MR . P.S. Bhati, learned Counsel for the petitioner taking the Court through comparative allocation of marks for these two others on 3.6.2005 and 11.6.2005 vide Annex. 4 and 5, pointed out that on the same set of documents furnished by the respondents No. 3 Mr. Pawan Kumar Paliwal for both these outlets, he was arbitrarily given different marks by two Selection Committees and thus the petitioner was deliberately pushed down marginally by little over one percentage and had the respondents been fair and abided by the guidelines given for allocation of marks in this regard, which are produced on record as Annex. 3, the petitioner would have ranked at serial No. 1 and could be awarded said outlet at Kelwa - NH 8. He particularly drew the attention of the Court in the award of marks to respondent No. 3 - Mr. Pawan Kumar in the following column of Annex. 4 and 5: