Lowest bidder has no claim over contract: HC

Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Jan 23: High Court has held that a bidder has no right for claiming the contract even if he/she is lowest tenderer among others.
Justice M K Hanjura while dismissing the petition of one Zahoor Ahmad Khan said it is upto the purchaser to issue fresh tenders if he feels so. “Be that as it may, the process of technical evaluation is not complete in the matter as yet and therefore, the writ petition is premature and deserves to be dismissed”, Justice Hanjura said.
The petitioner-Khan was seeking that a direction be issued to the purchaser to accept his bid and not to consider the post tender clarifications as submitted before them.
“The bidder has no vested right in the allotment of the contract even if he is the lowest tenderer”, court said, adding “the purchaser is well within his rights to issue fresh tenders if he feels that there is no sufficient participation in the bidding process.
Court said the petitioner under the garb of the instant petition wants that his bid alone should be accepted because only two bidders are in the fray i.e. he and the private respondent No. 3 and in case, court said, the bid of the private respondent is not accepted, it will become a case of single tender and a cakewalk for him.
Petitioner claims that he is a registered contractor running his business under the name and style of M/s H. R. Builders and General Suppliers Pvt. Ltd and has executed a number of public works for the respondent departments from time to time to the utmost satisfaction and expectations of the respondents.
The department issued a notification vide NIT No CEMK/e-Tender/2017-18/08 dated 13.09.2017 inviting tenders for the execution of work i.e. Supply of 800-900 t/hr capacity medium duty snow cutter/blower mounted on purpose built carrier vehicle.
Petitioner applied in terms of the tender notice issued by the respondents along with all the requisite documents. The respondents accepted the documents/ application of the petitioner including those of two other bidders namely M/s Friends Engineering Works and AEBI SCHMIDT INTERNATIONAL AG.
Private respondent (other bidder) also submitted his documents as a bidder as per the tender notice. The instruction No. 4 of the tender notice lays down that the conditional tenders such as, “subject to market fluctuation etc” will not be accepted.
Private respondent has submitted a conditional tender and, therefore, the purchaser as a duty bound rejected the same as per the condition No. 4 of the tender notice.
The respondents (purchaser) resisted and controverted the petition of the petitioner on the ground he has no cause to maintain the writ petition as his bid has been evaluated technically and found qualifying for opening of financial bid, but seeks that the bid of private respondent should not be accepted on the sole ground that the bid of private respondent  is a conditional bid which is liable to be rejected in terms of condition No. 4 of NIT.
It is further contended to defeat the writ petition that the bid of respondent No. 3 has not been found to be conditional by the purchaser. However, the bid was deficient in certain details and the purchaser decided to seek clarifications regarding the deficiencies.
“The clarifications have been obtained and are being technically evaluated and no final decision has been taken as yet. The writ petition does not in any way advance the cause of the petitioner and is solely aimed at scuttling the competition”, reads the objections of purchaser.

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