Case: Ram Chandra Jaiswal Vs M.S.T.C. Ltd. A Government of India Enterprise and Ors.. Jharkhand High Court
| Judges | D. G. Patnaik, J. |
| Issue | Constitution of India - Article 12 |
| Citation | 2008 (4) JCR 489 (Jhr) |
| Judgement Date | September 24, 2008 |
| Court | Jharkhand High Court |
Order:
D. G. Patnaik, J.
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Prayer in this writ application is for a writ in the nature of mandamus commanding upon the respondents to forthwith confirm the grant of Tender No. MSTC/ERO/JSEB/07/T-144, dated 28.3.2007 in favour of the petitioner and to permit the petitioner to lift 4650 M.T. of Iron Scrap lying at the site of P.T.P.S. in accordance with the terms and conditions of the aforesaid Tender.
A further prayer, introduced by way of amendment of the original writ application vide an interlocutory application No. 2412 of 2008, on the basis of certain developments subsequent to the filing of the writ application, is for issuance of a writ of certiorari for quashing the letter No. 683 (S & P) dated 2.8.2008 written by the Chief Engineer (Store and Purchase) (Respondent No. 7) to the Sr. Law Adviser-cum-Addition-al Secretary by which the aforesaid Tender regarding disposal of 4650 M.T. of iron scrap lying at the site of P.T.P.S. has been decided to be cancelled and re-auctioned and also for quashing the letter dated 5.8.2008, written by the Deputy Manager (ERO), M.S.T.C. (Respondent No. 4) to the Sr. Law Advisor, Jharkhand State Electricity Board, intimating that in view of letter dated 2.8.2008, issued by the Respondent No. 7, the M.S.T.C. intends to refund the Earnest Money Deposit of Rs. 25 lakhs to the Petitioner-Company and would re-auction the iron scrap materials at the. earliest.
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Earlier, the writ petition contained two more prayers, namely, (i) For an order directing the Respondent Nos. 1 to 7 to recall the letter dated 15.12.2007, written by the M.S.T.C. Ltd. to the Respondent No. 8 and (ii) for quashing the aforesaid letter. These two prayers have since been omitted in view of the fact that the private Respondent No. 8 have withdrawn himself from the fray of the bidders.
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The facts of the petitioner's case in brief are as follows:
The M.S.T.C. Ltd. which is a Government of India Enterprise and an authority within the meaning of Article 12 of the Constitution of India, issued a Tender (Annexure-1) in the month of March, 2007 vide Tender No. MSTC/ERO/JSEB/6-7/T-144 dated 28.3.2007 on behalf of the J.S.E.B. (Respondent No. 5) for sale of 4650 M.T. of Iron Scrap materials lying at the site of the P.T.P.S. This was done in terms of the order passed by the High Court of Jharkhand. The tender was to be opened in the presence of the Sr. Law Officer of the Jharkhand State Electricity Board, since the materials belonged to the Jharkhand State Electricity Board.
The tender was opened on 28th March, 2007 in which the petitioner alongwith three other bidders, including the Private Respondent No. 8, participated and submitted their respective offers.
The petitioner was the highest bidder for the purchase of the materials, since he had offered to purchase the materials at Rs. 14,115/- per M.T. The petitioner had also made an earnest money deposit of Rs. 25 lakhs together with his offer in compliance with the terms and conditions of the tender documents.
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Although the petitioner was declared to be the highest bidder at the time of the opening of the said Tender on 28th March, 2007, he later learnt that the respondents had intended to award the tender in question, to the respondent No. 8 who was the third highest bidder.
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The petitioner objected by addressing a letter to the Financial Secretary of the J.S.E.B. (Respondent No. 5). A reply communication was received by the petitioner, issued by the Respondent No. 1, vide, its letter dated 11.11.2007 informing that it had duly communicated by Respondent No. 1...
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