HC accepts State body’s submission that it will assign reasons for rejecting tender bids as per earlier order

Read Order: M/s Dev Transport Company v. The Haryana State Federation of Consumers’ Co-operative Wholesale Stores Ltd. and another 

LE Staff

Chandigarh, August 20, 2021: The Punjab and Haryana High Court has disposed of a plea after the concerned authorities readily agreed to redress the grievance of the petitioner firm, which had said that a body of the State of Haryana technically disqualified it in tender proceedings for awarding transportation works in Panipat district without assigning any reasons.

The senior counsel for the petitioner submitted that the orders dated March 13, 2019 passed by the High Court in The Nidhuka Co-operative L/C Society Ltd v. State of Haryana and others issued general directions by way of a writ of mandamus to the respondent-authorities for communicating the reasons for rejecting the technical bids. The petitioner claimed that despite the order, no reasons have been assigned by the respondent-authorities and simple communication of disqualification of the petitioner’s firm has been issued vide communication dated April 30, 2021.

The counsel appearing for the respondent state body submitted that the reasons were posted at the website of the authorities but on account of some technical problem, the same could not be displayed. 

The respondent’s counsel submitted that they would immediately take steps to communicate the reasons of technical disqualification of the petitioner firm’s bid to the petitioner within a period of three days. He also undertook that in future, the authorities would make all efforts to ensure compliance of the directions issued by the High Court in the Nidhulika Cooperative case (supra).

“In view of the aforesaid statement made by learned counsel for respondent No.1, the petition stands disposed of,” said a bench of Chief Justice Ravi Shanker Jha and Justice Arun Palli.